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What is a Category 5 Hurricane? Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com September 21, 2005 Hurricane Rita just strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane. A Category 5 hurricane is the strongest and most severe class of hurricane on the scale for measuring the strength of hurricanes. The scale, known as the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, classifies hurricanes by the intensity of their sustained winds, storm surge and flooding, developed in 1969 by civil engineer Herbert Saffir and National Hurricane Center director Bob Simpson. A Category 5 hurricane will have sustained winds of greater than 156 mph (250 km/h or 136 kt) and is capable of causing complete roof failure on residences and buildings. Evacuation of residential areas may be required in areas lying in the expected path of a Category 5 hurricane. Three Category 5 Hurricanes have made landfall in the United States since 1900. Among these are Hurricane Andrew (Southern Florida and south-central Louisiana from August 16 to August 28, 1992; 23 deaths in the United States; $26.5 billion in damage in the United States), Hurricane Camille (Mississippi and Louisiana in August 1969; 143 killed along Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana + 113 people in Nelson County, Virginia; $6.1 billion 1996 dollars in damage; storm surge of 24 feet (7.3 meters)), and the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 (Florida Keys in September 1935; 423 deaths). Hurricane Gilbert was a Category 5 hurricane that caused significant destruction in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico when it struck in September 1988. 318 were killed. 
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is used only to describe hurricanes that form in the Atlantic Ocean and northern Pacific Ocean east of the International Date Line. Other areas have their own classification schemes, such as cyclones and typhoons. The five categories of hurricanes are, in order of increasing intensity*: Category 1
Storm surge: 4–5 ft 1.2–1.5 m Central pressure: 28.94 in Hg, 980 mbar Potential damage: No real damage to building structures. Damage primarily to unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery, and trees. Also, some coastal flooding and minor pier damage. Historical storms: Hurricane Agnes – Hurricane Danny – Hurricane Gaston – Hurricane Ophelia
Storm surge: 6–8 ft 1.8–2.4 m Central pressure: 28.50–28.91 in Hg, 965–979 mbar Potential damage: Some roofing material, door, and window damage. Considerable damage to vegetation, mobile homes, etc. Flooding damages piers and small craft in unprotected moorings may break their moorings. Historical storms: Hurricane Bob – Hurricane Bonnie – Hurricane Frances – Hurricane Juan
Storm surge: 9–12 ft 2.7–3.7 m Central pressure: 27.91–28.47 in Hg, 945–964 mbar Potential damage: Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings, with a minor amount of curtainwall failures. Mobile homes are destroyed. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by floating debris. Terrain may be flooded well inland. Historical storms: Great New England Hurricane of 1938 – Hurricane Fran – Hurricane Isidore – Hurricane Jeanne
Storm surge: 13–18 ft 4.0–5.5 m Central pressure: 27.17–27.88 in Hg, 920–944 mbar Potential damage: More extensive curtainwall failures with some complete roof structure failure on small residences. Major erosion of beach areas. Terrain may be flooded well inland. Historical storms: Galveston Hurricane of 1900 – Hurricane Charley – Hurricane Hugo – Hurricane Iris – Hurricane Katrina
Storm surge: greater than 19 ft, 5.5 m Central pressure: less than 27.17 in Hg, 920 mbar Potential damage: Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. Flooding causes major damage to lower floors of all structures near the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas may be required. Historical storms: Hurricane Andrew – Hurricane Camille – Hurricane Gilbert – Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 Related articles: San Diego has been hit by hurricanes in the past and may be affected by such storms in the future according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). While a hurricane in San Diego would likely produce significantly less damage that Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, it could still exact a high cost to Southern California especially if the region was caught off guard. Tampa Bay could be hit by 25-foot storm surge in Category 4 hurricane - 16-September-2005 A Category 4 hurricane could cause a storm surge of as much as 25 feet in Tampa Bay, according to a University of Central Florida researcher who is looking at the risks Florida cities face from tidal surges and flooding. Number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has nearly doubled over past 35 years - 16-September-2005 The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes worldwide has nearly doubled over the past 35 years, even though the total number of hurricanes has dropped since the 1990s, according to a study by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The shift occurred as global sea surface temperatures have increased over the same period. The research appears in the September 16 issue of Science. Environmental problems worsened Hurricane Katrina's impact - 31-August-2005 The loss of coastal marshlands that buffer New Orleans from flooding and storm surges may have worsened the impact of Hurricane Katrina. Hurricanes getting stronger due to global warming says study - 29-August-2005 Late last month an atmospheric scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology released a study in Nature that found hurricanes have grown significantly more powerful and destructive over the past three decades. Kerry Emanuel, the author of the study, warns that since hurricanes depend on warm water to form and build, global climate change might increase the effect of hurricanes still further in coming years.
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This article used information from Wikipedia and the National Hurricane Center
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