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Depending on who you ask, the Saffir Simpson hurricane scale, used to rate hurricanes for decades, may be put out to pasture in 2009. Developed by enginner Herbert Saffir and then NHC Director Robert Simpson in the late 60's, the scale rates hurricanes from Category 1 to 5. It does this by using the wind speed of the hurricane, not flooding or storm surge potential.
A perfect example of why the scale should be changed came this year when Ike slammed into Texas. Ike made landfall as a Cat. 2 hurricane, with residents and officials expecting moderate hurricane damage. But Ike's storm surge was over 15', so destruction was catatrophic and widespread along the Texas coastline. Today they are still cleaning up the debris, and some residents are still waiting for FEMA trailers. And livinig in tents while they wait.
Gene Hafele, meteorologist-in-charge of the Houston/Galveston office of the National Weather Service is proposing the modification. "Bad decisions were made during Ike by both citizens and officials, based on the notion that Ike was a Category 2 storm and a feeling that 'I have been through a lot worse.' It is hard to convince people that they could face certain death when they see that a storm is not even considered to be a major hurricane."
A cat. 2 hurricane like Frances in 2004 caused a 5-8' storm surge. The same hurricane in Galvaston caused 15-18' surge. Geography is the main reason, and it works for us in Florida. Not so along the Gulf Coast. It's time to change the scale to reflect potnetial damage.
