This story was originally published byGrist.

This is the one the climatologists have been warning us about for 20 years, one character declares.

In the real world, Category 5 is synonymous with the biggest and baddest storms.

Hurricane Dorian makes landfall on North Carolina’s Outer Banks on September 6, 2019.

Hurricane Dorian makes landfall on North Carolina’s Outer Banks on September 6, 2019.Image: NOAA

But some U.S. scientists are making the case that it no longer captures the intensity of recent hurricanes.

According to the study, the world has already seen storms that would qualify as Category 6s.

What weve demonstrated here is that, yeah, its already happening.

A partially filled BARREL balloon.

We tried to put numbers on how much worse itll get.

But some experts arent convinced it would be helpful to work Category 6 into our hurricane vocabularies.

What storms would count as a Category 6?

Hurricane Michael

The current Category 5 designation refers to any tropical cyclone with wind speeds higher than 157 miles per hour.

By a stroke of good fortune, the storm hit a relatively unpopulated region, causing only six deaths.

Thats because climate change is making the ocean and atmosphere warmer, providingfuel for more intense hurricanes.

A NOAA NWS sign.

By contrast, high winds are behind just 8 percent of deaths.

You know, people are creatures of habit, he said.

They have been conditioned to believe that Cat 5 is the strongest hurricane.

A sail boat in the San Francisco Bay

OK, now, well, what are the categories?

To me, it creates a lot more communication inconsistencies and confusion for the public.

When they hear Category 5, I think people will react to it, Collins said.

Commuters in Chicago during a winter storm in December 2022.

Its really when we use those lower categories that people are not reacting when they should.

The authors of the new paper dont think that extending the category system would fix these hurricane-communication problems.

Were not trying to address these other inadequacies, Wehner said.

Dozens of beachfront homes in Malibu, CA were destroyed overnight in the Palisades Fire on Wednesday, January 8, 2025.

Storms are no longer all natural, and theyre getting stronger.

A better way to communicate hurricane risks?

Instead, he focuses on explaining threats from storm surge and flooding, sharing visuals that show the risks.

Predator Badlands

I dont want to downplay or underplay that, because thats critical.

This article originally appeared inGristathttps://grist.org/extreme-weather/category-6-hurricanes-study-climate-storms/.

Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.

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