With Milton going from a Category 2 to a Category 5 hurricane in just a few hours, people are wondering if this powerful hurricane could become a Category 6.
The hurricane quickly became very strong on Monday after forming in the Gulf of Mexico, exploding from a 60 mph tropical storm on Sunday morning to a severe 180 mph Category 5 hurricane in 36 hours. It recorded an impressive increase of 130 miles per hour.
This hurricane, which is rapidly developing and shows no signs of slowing down, is not technically a Category 6 hurricane, as there is currently no Category 6 hurricane. But it will soon become a controversial hypothetical category, with experts debating whether the scale the National Hurricane Center has used for years to categorize hurricane wind speeds into Categories 1 through 5 needs to be revised. It is possible to reach the level of 6.
Milton is already in dilute Category 5 conditions with winds exceeding 156 mph. But winds reaching 192 mph would exceed a threshold reached by just five hurricanes and typhoons since 1980, Michael Wehner said. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists and Jim Kossin, a former federal scientist and scientific advisor to the nonprofit First Street Foundation.
Live Updates Hurricane Milton strengthens ‘explosively’ with 180 mph winds
They authored a study examining whether this extreme storm could qualify as a Category 6 hurricane. All five storms occurred in the past 10 years.
Scientists say some of the more powerful cyclones in the world’s oceans, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, parts of Southeast Asia and the waters of the Philippines, are being supercharged by record-warm water.
Mr Cossin and Mr Wehner said they were not proposing adding Category 6 to anemometers, but were seeking to “inform a broader discussion” about communicating the increasing risks in a warming world. .
Other weather experts want to see less emphasis on wind speed categories, saying they don’t adequately convey the hurricane’s broader potential impacts, such as storm surge and inland flooding. Helen’s greatest damage occurred when the storm reached the Carolinas and had already been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm.
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What is the Saffir Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale?
Since the 1970s, the Hurricane Center has used a well-known scale that shows wind speed ranges in five categories. The minimum Category 5 wind threshold is 157 mph.
The scale, designed by engineer Herbert Safir and modified by former center director Robert Simpson, is stuck at Category 5 because, in such strong winds, “no matter how well designed it is, “can cause serious burst injuries,” Simpson said in a 1999 interview.
According to Kossin, unrestricted Category 5 stands for “nominal Category 5 to infinity.” โThat is becoming increasingly inadequate over time as climate change increasingly produces these unprecedented intensities.โ
Details: A “Category 5” was considered the worst type of hurricane. Research shows there’s something even scarier.