CIRA/NOAA
Hurricane Milton’s ferocious winds that peaked at 180 mph have people asking yet again—is it time for the National Hurricane Center to add a “Category 6” classification to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale?
The question will likely take a backseat at the NHC ahead of Milton’s landfall in Florida on Wednesday evening. Once the storm surge recedes and hurricane season comes to a close, however, some researchers want the federal agency to make a change—especially as powerful hurricanes are expected to increase in frequency amid the warming of our oceans.
Among those in favor of adding a new designation is Michael Wehner, a climate scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He co-authored a study earlier this year that looked at recent storms that would be worthy of the Category 6 hurricane denomination and determined a new classification would help emphasize a truly catastrophic storm’s potential devastation.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com