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Creator of Hurricane Intensity Scale Dies

By Associated Press

An engineer who created the five-category system used to describe hurricane strength and warn millions of an approaching storm's danger has died. Creator of Hurricane Intensity Scale Dies

Published: Fri, November 23, 2007 - 11:24 am Last Updated: Fri, November 23, 2007 - 12:00 pm

MIAMI (AP) - An engineer who created the five-category system
used to describe hurricane strength and warn millions of an
approaching storm's danger has died.
His son says Herbert Saffir died Wednesday. He was 90.
Saffir created his scale in 1969 -- laying out for the first
time what kind of damage could be expected from an approaching
hurricane. It has since become the definitive way to describe
intensity for storms that form in the Atlantic and parts of the
Pacific. Before the scale, hurricanes were simply described as
major or minor.
Saffir's scale was expanded by former National Hurricane Center
director Robert Simpson and became known as the Saffir-Simpson
scale in the 1970s.
The Saffir-Simpson scale is determined by wind speed, since
storm surge sizes depend on the slope of the continental shelf:

Category 1
Winds: 74-95 mph
Storm surge: 4 to 5 feet above normal.
Damage: unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery and trees; some
damage to poorly constructed signs and piers.

Category 2
Winds: 96-110 mph
Storm surge: 6 to 8 feet above normal.
Damage: some roof, door and window damage of buildings;
considerable damage to mobile homes, small watercraft, trees,
poorly constructed signs and piers; flooding of coastal and
low-lying areas.

Category 3
Winds: 111-130 mph
Storm surge: 9 to 12 feet above normal
Damage: some structural damage to small homes; mobile homes
destroyed and large trees blown down; coastal flooding destroys
smaller structures and floating debris damages larger structures;
terrain lower than 5 feet above sea level may flood as far as 8
miles inland.

Category 4
Winds: 131-155 mph
Storm surge: 13 to 18 feet above normal
Damage: wall failures and roof collapses on small homes, and
extensive damage to doors and windows; complete destruction of some
homes, especially mobile homes; major coastal flooding damage.

Category 5
Winds: greater than 155 mph
Storm surge: greater than 18 feet above normal
Damage: complete roof failure on many homes and industrial
buildings; smaller buildings and mobile homes blown over or
completely blown away; major damage to lower floors of all
structures located less than 15 feet above sea level and within 500
yards of the shoreline; massive evacuation of residential areas on
low ground within 5 to 10 miles inland may be required.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)