Hurricane categories are based on wind speed, but the worst damage usually comes from water. Photos show the real damage storms can do at different strengths.

Rebecca HarringtonAug 30, 2023, 01:59 IST

Hurricane Idalia is seen barreling toward Florida as a Category 1 storm on Tuesday, August 29, 2023.NASA/GOES-East

Wind speed determines hurricane categories — not the rain, storm surge, or flooding they can cause.
Category 1 storms can still kill people, destroy homes, and leave lasting damage in their wake.

Hurricanes Irma and Harvey were two very different storms.

The Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, which does not include lower-level tropical storms or tropical depressions, is based solely on maximum sustained wind.

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Once a tropical storm's winds exceed 39 mph, the storm gets a name.

Hurricanes that have hit the continental US from 1950 to 2011, color-coded by category.NOAA

But "storms are too complex to define by one number," Needham wrote.

Interstate 45 seen during widespread flooding in Houston on August 27, 2017.REUTERS/Richard Carson

While strong winds can rip shingles off roofs and tear down power lines, flooding often causes more widespread, costlier damage — and can be more dangerous for humans, no matter what the hurricane category is.

Homes surrounded by floodwater from Tropical Storm Harvey on August 29, 2017, in Houston.AP/David J. Phillip

While strong winds can rip shingles off roofs and tear down power lines, flooding often causes more widespread, costlier damage — and can be more dangerous for humans, no matter what the hurricane category is.

Harvey, for example, was particularly devastating because it stalled over the Houston area, staying in roughly the same place for five days.

People float on floodwaters caused by Hurricane Harvey.David J. Phillip/AP

Category 1 hurricanes have wind speeds of 74 to 95 mph.

Water floods the roads in Rodanthe, North Carolina, after Hurricane Dorian hit the area on September 6, 2019.Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Category 2 hurricanes have wind speeds of 96 to 110 mph.

Hurricane Ike's winds caused severe damage when the storm hit Texas in 2008.David J. Phillip/REUTERS

While a hurricane's category classifies how strong it is, this definition can't fully predict how devastating it might be.

Hurricane Sandy caused the deaths of hundreds of people and cost $68 billion in damage.AP

Category 3 storms have wind speeds of 111 to 129 mph.

Burned houses next to those that survived fires during Hurricane Sandy in Breezy Point, Queens.Adrees Latif/Reuters

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was the most devastating storm ever to hit the US.

Flooded neighborhoods seen as the Coast Guard conducted initial Hurricane Katrina damage-assessment overflights in 2005 in New Orleans.Getty Images

Category 4 hurricanes have wind speeds of 130 to 156 mph, uprooting most trees and creating power failures that can last weeks or even months.

Mobile homes seen torn apart north of Port Charlotte, Florida, on in 2004 after Hurricane Charley moved through the area.J.Pat Carter/AP

Hurricane Maria was a Category 4 storm when it made landfall in Puerto Rico in 2017, leaving 100% of the island without power.

A woman tries to walks out from her house after the area was hit by Hurricane Maria in Salinas, Puerto Rico, September 21, 2017.REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Hurricane Andrew was one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall in the US.

The Florida City water tower remained standing over the ruins of the coastal community that was hit by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.AP

Category 5 storms have wind speeds greater than 157 mph, which can destroy most framed homes, cause power failures, and leave areas where it hits uninhabitable for weeks or even months.

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Category 5 storms have wind speeds greater than 157 mph, which can destroy most framed homes, cause power failures, and leave areas where it hits uninhabitable for weeks or even months.

During Irma, local weather stations in Barbuda captured wind gusts of 155 mph before going silent, indicating that the instruments had been blown away.

Satellite photos show Barbuda before and after Hurricane Irma devastated the island in 2017.NASA Earth Observatory

Hurricane Irma was so powerful that it could have been considered a Category 6 storm.

Water rises up to a sidewalk by the Miami river as Hurricane Irma arrives at south Florida, in downtown Miami, Florida.Reuters/Carlos Barria

The problem with extending the Saffir-Simpson scale is that it's also a measurement based on destruction, and Category 5 storms typically destroy buildings and utilities.

Rescue staff from the Municipal Emergency Management Agency investigate an empty flooded car during the passage of Hurricane Irma through the northeastern part of Puerto Rico.AP Photo/Carlos Giusti

The problem with extending the Saffir-Simpson scale is that it's also a measurement based on destruction, and Category 5 storms typically destroy buildings and utilities.

Whether it's a tropical storm or a theoretical "Category 6", the impact for people in a hurricane's wake can be devastating.

A woman reacts while she looks at the damages in the house of her mother after the area was hit by Hurricane Maria in Guayama, Puerto Rico September 20, 2017.REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Part of the issue is that climate change is causing ocean and air temperatures to rise, which is making hurricanes more sluggish, giving them more time to suck up warm water and gain strength.

The intensity of Hurricane Dorian as it sat over the Bahamas before it moved toward Florida.Tropical Tidbits

Part of the issue is that climate change is causing ocean and air temperatures to rise, which is making hurricanes more sluggish, giving them more time to suck up warm water and gain strength.

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Hurricane categories are based on wind speed, but the worst damage usually comes from water. Photos show the real damage storms can do at different strengths.

Hurricanes Irma and Harvey were two very different storms.

The Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, which does not include lower-level tropical storms or tropical depressions, is based solely on maximum sustained wind.

Once a tropical storm's winds exceed 39 mph, the storm gets a name.

But "storms are too complex to define by one number," Needham wrote.

While strong winds can rip shingles off roofs and tear down power lines, flooding often causes more widespread, costlier damage — and can be more dangerous for humans, no matter what the hurricane category is.

Harvey, for example, was particularly devastating because it stalled over the Houston area, staying in roughly the same place for five days.

Category 1 hurricanes have wind speeds of 74 to 95 mph.

Category 2 hurricanes have wind speeds of 96 to 110 mph.

While a hurricane's category classifies how strong it is, this definition can't fully predict how devastating it might be.

Category 3 storms have wind speeds of 111 to 129 mph.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was the most devastating storm ever to hit the US.

Category 4 hurricanes have wind speeds of 130 to 156 mph, uprooting most trees and creating power failures that can last weeks or even months.

Hurricane Maria was a Category 4 storm when it made landfall in Puerto Rico in 2017, leaving 100% of the island without power.

Hurricane Andrew was one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall in the US.

Category 5 storms have wind speeds greater than 157 mph, which can destroy most framed homes, cause power failures, and leave areas where it hits uninhabitable for weeks or even months.

During Irma, local weather stations in Barbuda captured wind gusts of 155 mph before going silent, indicating that the instruments had been blown away.

Hurricane Irma was so powerful that it could have been considered a Category 6 storm.

The problem with extending the Saffir-Simpson scale is that it's also a measurement based on destruction, and Category 5 storms typically destroy buildings and utilities.

Whether it's a tropical storm or a theoretical "Category 6", the impact for people in a hurricane's wake can be devastating.

Part of the issue is that climate change is causing ocean and air temperatures to rise, which is making hurricanes more sluggish, giving them more time to suck up warm water and gain strength.