{"685731":{"#nid":"685731","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"A hurricane\u0027s category might not give you all the information you need","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EClimate change is altering the conditions that lead to hurricane development. That\u2019s made some meteorologists reconsider how we measure those storms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExperts have used the Saffir-Simpson scale since 1969 to classify hurricanes by their wind speeds, ranging from Category 1 to Category 5.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/people\/handlos-zachary\u0022\u003EZachary Handlos\u003C\/a\u003E, the director of Atmospheric and Oceanic Studies at Georgia Tech which is examining how forecasters currently classify and communicate storm threats, says each storm is different and could result in a range of consequences.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022There\u0027s storm surge [\u2026] there\u0027s inland flooding from the significant rainfall \u2014 that was the big thing with Helene last year in our area,\u0022 he said, noting that previously, Hurricane Irma only brought sustained winds to the region.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022You can also get tornadoes within hurricanes too, so not only are you dealing with flooding, storm surge, you also have to deal with tornadoes in the area at the same time,\u0022 Handlos said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe said any new scale should be complementary to the Saffir-Simpson scale, not replace it, as researchers still rely on it for historical study and communication with the public.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EClimate change is altering the conditions that lead to hurricane development. That\u2019s made some meteorologists reconsider how we measure those storms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExperts have used the Saffir-Simpson scale since 1969 to classify hurricanes by their wind speeds, ranging from Category 1 to Category 5.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/people\/handlos-zachary\u0022\u003EZachary Handlos\u003C\/a\u003E, the director of Atmospheric and Oceanic Studies at Georgia Tech which is examining how forecasters currently classify and communicate storm threats, says each storm is different and could result in a range of consequences.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022There\u0027s storm surge [\u2026] there\u0027s inland flooding from the significant rainfall \u2014 that was the big thing with Helene last year in our area,\u0022 he said, noting that previously, Hurricane Irma only brought sustained winds to the region.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022You can also get tornadoes within hurricanes too, so not only are you dealing with flooding, storm surge, you also have to deal with tornadoes in the area at the same time,\u0022 Handlos said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe said any new scale should be complementary to the Saffir-Simpson scale, not replace it, as researchers still rely on it for historical study and communication with the public.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"36583","created_gmt":"2025-10-15 21:58:03","changed_gmt":"2025-10-16 18:57:55","author":"lvidal7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"Georgia Public Broadcasting","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"https:\/\/www.gpb.org\/news\/2025\/10\/14\/hurricanes-category-might-not-give-you-all-the-information-you-need","dateline":{"date":"2025-10-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-10-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"}],"categories":[{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166926","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"},{"id":"194814","name":"hurricane classification"},{"id":"1860","name":"hurricane"},{"id":"192254","name":"cos-climate"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}