Click any category to see wind speed range, storm surge, damage examples, and famous hurricanes at that intensity.
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale was developed in 1971 by civil engineer Herbert Saffir and meteorologist Robert Simpson. Categories are based on 1-minute sustained wind speed. Storm surge was originally included but was removed in 2010 because it depends heavily on local geography.
Note: hurricane category doesn't tell the whole story. Storm surge, rainfall totals, and forward speed can make a Category 2 more destructive than a Category 4. Harvey (2017) was a Cat 4 at landfall but killed most people with rain, not wind.