Hurricane categories: the Saffir-Simpson scale explained

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is the hurricane scale the US National Hurricane Center uses. It rates a hurricane from Category 1 to 5 by its maximum sustained wind alone. Category 1 starts at 74 mph, Category 2 at 96 mph, Category 3 at 111 mph, Category 4 at 130 mph and Category 5 at 157 mph.

Hurricane categories chart: wind speeds by category

Each category is a band of maximum sustained wind, published by NHC in mph, knots and km/h. Pressure is not part of the scale; that column shows what our archive recorded.

Category	mph	km/h	knots	Typical pressure	Expected damage (NHC)
TD Tropical depression	≤ 38	≤ 62	≤ 33	1007 mb	Not rated on the scale. Can still bring flooding rain.
TS Tropical storm	39–73	63–118	34–63	999 mb	Not rated on the scale. Damaging gusts, downed trees and flooding rain are common.
C1 Category 1	74–95	119–153	64–82	983 mb	Very dangerous winds will produce some damage: roofs, shingles, siding and gutters on well-built homes; large branches snap; power outages that could last a few to several days.
C2 Category 2	96–110	154–177	83–95	969 mb	Extremely dangerous winds will cause extensive damage: major roof and siding damage; many shallow-rooted trees snapped or uprooted, blocking roads; near-total power loss lasting several days to weeks.
C3 Category 3	111–129	178–208	96–112	956 mb	Devastating damage will occur: well-built homes may lose roof decking and gable ends; many trees down; electricity and water unavailable for several days to weeks.
C4 Category 4	130–156	209–251	113–136	938 mb	Catastrophic damage will occur: well-built homes can lose most of the roof and some exterior walls; most trees and power poles down; outages lasting weeks to months; most of the area uninhabitable for weeks or months.
C5 Category 5	≥ 157	≥ 252	≥ 137	913 mb	Catastrophic damage will occur: a high percentage of framed homes destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse; residential areas isolated; outages lasting weeks to months; most of the area uninhabitable for weeks or months.

Wind: 1-minute sustained at 10 m. Damage descriptions: NOAA National Hurricane Center. Tropical depressions and storms are listed for reference; the scale itself starts at Category 1. Typical pressure: median lowest pressure of Atlantic storms since 1980 that peaked in that category.

How the scale works

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale was developed in the early 1970s by engineer Herbert Saffir and Robert Simpson, then director of the National Hurricane Center. Today it is based on one number only: a hurricane’s maximum sustained wind. Earlier versions also listed typical storm surge and pressure, but those were removed in 2010 because surge and pressure depend on much more than wind and the ranges often misled people; in 2012 the Category 3–5 boundaries were shifted slightly so they convert cleanly between units.

Category 3 and above are major hurricanes. Each step up the scale means much more damage than the step before: wind pressure on a building grows with the square of the wind speed.

How often each category happens

Since 1980, 2,222 storms worldwide have reached at least Category 1. The most common peak is Category 1 (33%); the rarest is Category 5 (225 storms, 10%).

The West Pacific alone produced 125 of the 225 Category 5 storms, more than every other basin combined.

Basin	Cat 1	Cat 2	Cat 3	Cat 4	Cat 5	All
Atlantic	125	56	49	59	26	315
East Pacific	139	69	63	123	21	415
Central Pacific	10	4	7	11	6	38
West Pacific	209	125	87	183	125	729
North Indian	34	9	14	15	8	80
Southern Hemisphere	216	101	123	166	39	645
All basins	733	364	343	557	225	2,222

Each storm counted once, at its peak category, in the basin where it formed. Winds are 1-minute sustained in every basin (NHC, CPHC and Joint Typhoon Warning Center best tracks).

Category at landfall vs category at peak

Most hurricanes come ashore weaker than their peak. Since 1980, storms have crossed a coast at hurricane strength 910 times, and in 579 of those landfalls (64%) the storm was at a lower category than its peak.

The gap is widest at the top of the scale. Storms that peaked at Category 5 made 169 landfalls at hurricane strength, and only 24 of them came at Category 5. A storm called “a Category 5” may have been much weaker where it hit land.

Basin	Hurricane landfalls	Below peak	Share below
Atlantic	262	148	56%
East Pacific	57	27	47%
Central Pacific	5	5	100%
West Pacific	386	277	72%
North Indian	42	25	60%
Southern Hemisphere	158	97	61%
All basins	910	579	64%

Every coast crossing counts, so one storm can have several. We use the landfall points NHC’s best track marks where they exist, otherwise the first best-track point over land.

Category 5 hurricanes since 1980

26 Atlantic hurricanes and 27 storms that formed in the eastern and central Pacific have reached Category 5 since 1980. A few of the Pacific ones, such as Paka in 1997, peaked after crossing the date line as typhoons.

On the same 1-minute scale, 125 West Pacific typhoons, 39 Southern Hemisphere cyclones and 8 North Indian cyclones reached Category 5. The typhoon tracker and cyclone tracker list the strongest.

Peak = the highest 1-minute wind in the best track: the six-hourly fixes plus NHC’s extra records for peak intensity and landfall.

What the category does not tell you

Storm surge, the rise of seawater pushed ashore, depends on the storm’s size, speed and angle and on the shape of the coast, not just its category.
Rainfall flooding depends on how slowly the storm moves. Some of the worst flood disasters came from weak or weakening storms.
Size: a large Category 1 can bring hurricane-force winds to a much wider area than a compact Category 4.
Tornadoes and rip currents can occur far from the center.

Read next: the forecast cone, and why the same storms are called typhoons or cyclones elsewhere.

Categories outside the Atlantic

The Saffir-Simpson scale is used officially for hurricanes in the Atlantic and the eastern and central Pacific. Other regions use their own scales, often based on 10-minute average winds. In the western North Pacific, NHC notes, the term super typhoon is used for storms with sustained winds above 150 mph.

HurriTracker applies Saffir-Simpson categories to every storm, typhoons and cyclones included, using 1-minute winds so storms compare worldwide. Your national weather service’s category is the one its warnings use.

Hurricane categories FAQ

What wind speed is a Category 5 hurricane?

A Category 5 hurricane has maximum sustained winds of 157 mph (252 km/h, 137 knots) or higher. The category has no upper limit, so a storm at 160 mph and one at 215 mph are both Category 5. NHC describes the damage as catastrophic, with a high percentage of framed homes destroyed.

What is a major hurricane?

A major hurricane is Category 3 or stronger: maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph (178 km/h, 96 knots). NHC uses the term because storms at this level can cause devastating to catastrophic wind damage and significant loss of life from their winds alone. Categories 3, 4 and 5 all count.

What is a Category 6 or 7 hurricane?

There is no Category 6 or 7. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale runs from 1 to 5, and Category 5 is open-ended: any hurricane with winds of 157 mph or more is Category 5. The strongest storm in our archive since 1980, Hurricane Patricia in 2015, peaked at 215 mph (185 knots) and was still a Category 5.

Does the category tell me how dangerous a hurricane is?

Only for wind. NHC notes that hurricanes of every category can produce deadly storm surge, rain-induced flooding and tornadoes. To judge your own risk, check storm surge and flood watches and warnings and your evacuation zone, not just the number. Evacuation orders follow surge zones, not categories.

What does maximum sustained wind mean?

It is the highest 1-minute average wind at 10 meters (33 feet) above the surface somewhere in the storm, usually in the eyewall. Most places in a hurricane get weaker sustained winds than that, but gusts can be much stronger for a few seconds.