Once a tropical storm strengthens into a hurricane, it earns a category designation on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale: 1 through 5.
Coastal areas in New England are bracing for the high tide that is scheduled to be at it's highest as waves crash into homes in Scituate, Massachusetts on March 2, 2018. High winds, rain and flooding is taking place in Scituate and the surrounding coastal areas of Massachusetts as a storm known as a 'bomb cyclone' makes it way past the East Coast. / AFP PHOTO / RYAN MCBRIDE (Photo credit should read RYAN MCBRIDE/AFP/Getty Images) RYAN MCBRIDE/AFP/Getty ImagesKnowing about each category can help predict what damage an incoming storm may inflict – and how best to prepare.
The categories are defined by wind speed, with a storm of Category 3, 4, or 5 considered a major hurricane. And damage is exponential as wind speed increases, meaning a strong Category 3 storm could do up to 60 times as much damage as a weak Category 1 storm.
But it’s not always as simple as ticking up from 1 to 5.
A house sits in ruin in September 2022 following Category 4 Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesHurricanes carry many risks not adequately conveyed by the wind speed-based scale, including:
• Storm surge – when winds push water onto shore – which accounted for about half of hurricane fatalities between 1963 and 2012, according to a 2014 report in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society;
• Rainfall-induced flooding and mudslides, which made up about a quarter of such deaths, the report shows;
• A storm’s forward speed: Slower storms are more destructive, with strong gusts or rainstorms that pound the same areas for hours or days;
• Tornadoes, which can spawn by the dozen from any hurricane.
Still, the National Hurricane Center uses categories – set by sustained wind speed –to estimate possible property damage from hurricanes. Here’s what’s expected in each:
Category 1: 74-95 mph
Sustained winds are enough to blow shingles off roofs and damage gutters and vinyl siding, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
These winds also can uproot trees and bring down branches, causing power outages and more property damage. They can damage power lines directly, too.
Siding hangs from building in November 2022 at The Reef Ocean Resort in Vero Beach, Florida, after Hurricane Nicole made landfall. Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP/Getty Images• Hurricane Nicole, a Category 1 storm, made landfall in November 2022 along Florida’s East Coast and impacted places still then recovering from Hurricane Ian less than two months earlier. Nicole caused significant beach erosion and caused more than $1 billion in damages, according to NOAA.
Category 2: 96-110 mph
Sustained winds could cause as much as 20 times the damage as those of a Category 1 storm, including extensive damage to a home’s roof and siding.
Numerous trees and power lines will most likely be damaged, blocking roads, damaging property and knocking out power for days, if not weeks.
An information kiosk lies on the ground in October 2020 after Hurricane Delta's winds knocked it over in Cancun, Mexico. Erick Marfil/Getty Images• Hurricane Delta struck Louisiana’s coast in October 2020 with winds of 100 mph and made landfall just 12 miles east of where Hurricane Laura had come ashore just six weeks earlier. Delta blew away many tarps on roofs damaged by Laura and did extensive damage to trees, homes and businesses. It also dumped more than a foot of rain across South Louisiana, creating prolonged flooding.
Category 3: 111-129 mph
Now in “major hurricane” territory, wind damage is much more widespread. Well-built homes and other buildings could suffer major damage, and roofs will sustain heavy damage. Numerous trees will be damaged or uprooted.
“Electricity and water will be unavailable for several days to weeks after the storm passes,” NOAA said.
Debris blown ashore by Hurricane Katrina lies in August 2005 near downtown Gulfport, Mississippi. Barry Williams/Getty Images• Hurricane Katrina was a Category 3 storm that struck during the busy 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It first made landfall along the Florida coast at Category 1 strength before rapidly intensifying in the Gulf of Mexico to Category 5. It weakened before making landfall in southeast Louisiana as a Category 3 storm.
Storm surge was estimated at close to 20 feet along the Mississippi-Alabama border, and estimated winds reached as high as 140 mph near Grand Isle, Louisiana. Levee breaches sent water flooding into much of New Orleans, forcing people onto rooftops for rescue. Katrina killed more than 1,800 people, left as many as 600,000 households displaced for at least a month and became the most costly storm on record, according to NOAA.
Category 4: 130-156 mph
Catastrophic damage can result from these winds. Well-built homes will be heavily damaged, with most of the roof blown away. Trees and power lines will be down. Water and power services could be out for months, with the hardest-hit places uninhabitable for weeks.
A broken section of road and destroyed houses are seen in Matlacha, Florida, on Saturday, October 1. Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images 
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden talk to people impacted by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida, during a tour of the area on Wednesday, October 5. Evan Vucci/AP 
Greg Guidi, left, and Thomas Bostic unload supplies from a boat on Pine Island, Florida, on Tuesday, October 4. With the roads onto the island made impassable, people were getting supplies to the island by boat. Joe Raedle/Getty Images 
Members of a search-and-rescue team comb through the wreckage on Fort Myers Beach on Tuesday. Win McNamee/Getty Images 
Stephanie Fopiano, right, gets a hug from Kenya Taylor, both from North Port, as she gets emotional about her situation at the Venice High School hurricane shelter in Venice, Florida, on Monday, October 3. Mike Lang/USA Today Network 
Workers and residents clear debris from a destroyed bar in Fort Myers on Saturday, October 1. Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images 
Beachgoers look at a large shrimping boat that was swept ashore in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Saturday. Jonathan Drake/Reuters 
Local muralist Candy Miller, left, embraces Ana Kapel, the manager of the Pier Peddler, a gift shop that sold women's fashions, as she becomes emotional at the site where the store once stood on Fort Myers Beach on Friday. Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/AP 
Waters from a rain-swollen pond cover grass and a foot path around Quarterman Park in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday. Meg Kinnard/AP 
Members of the US Army National Guard help people evacuate from flood waters in North Port, Florida, on Friday, September 30. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters 
Water streams past buildings on the oceanfront on Sanibel Island, Florida, on Friday. Steve Helber/AP 
University of Central Florida students use an inflatable mattress as they evacuate an apartment complex in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, September 30. Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentintel/AP 
A firefighter examines a fallen tree in Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday. Alex Brandon/AP 
A man tows a canoe through a flooded street of his neighborhood in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on Friday. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images 
People wait in line to enter a Home Depot store in Cape Coral, Florida, on Friday. Many in Florida were still without power. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg/Getty Images 
The wreckage of a car teeters on a buckled roadway on Friday in Matlacha, Florida. Win McNamee/Getty Images 
Members of the Texas A&M Task Force 1 Search and Rescue team look for anyone needing help on Friday in Fort Myers, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images 
A man takes photos Thursday, September 29, of boats that were damaged by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida. Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images 
Bob Levitt returns to his condemned home to retrieve his cat, which he found hiding in a bedroom Thursday in Palm Beach County, Florida. A tornado spawned by the hurricane left residents homeless. Thomas Cordy/The Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network 
This aerial photo shows damaged homes and debris in Fort Myers Beach on Thursday. Wilfredo Lee/AP 
Jake Moses and Heather Jones explore a section of destroyed businesses in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on Thursday. Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/Zuma 
Workers in Naples, Florida, clean up debris on Thursday. Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images 
A section of the Sanibel Causeway is seen on Thursday after it collapsed due to the effects of the storm. Steve Helber/AP 
Stedi Scuderi looks over her flooded apartment in Fort Myers on Thursday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images 
A resident of Orange County, Florida, and a couple of dogs are rescued from floodwaters on Thursday. From Orange County Government 
A boat lies partially submerged in Punta Gorda, Florida, on Thursday. Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images 
Tom Park begins cleaning up in Punta Gorda on Thursday. Win McNamee/Getty Images 
Residents of Port Charlotte, Florida, line up for free food that was being distributed from a taco truck on Thursday. Win McNamee/Getty Images 
A causeway to Florida's Sanibel Island is seen on Thursday. The causeway is the only way to get to or from Sanibel and Captiva Islands to Florida's mainland. Wilfredo Lee/AP 
People clear a large tree off their home in Fort Myers on Thursday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images 
Homes are flooded in Port Charlotte on Thursday. Win McNamee/Getty Images 
Jonathan Strong dives into floodwaters while he and his girlfriend, Kylie Dodd, knock on doors to help people in a flooded mobile home community in Iona, Florida, on Thursday. "I can't just sit around while my house is intact and let other people suffer," he said. "It's what we do: community helping community." Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/AP 
Brenda Brennan sits next to a boat that pushed up against her apartment building in Fort Myers on Thursday. She said the boat floated in around 7 p.m. Wednesday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images 
People walk along the beach looking at property damaged in Bonita Springs, Florida, on Thursday. Sean Rayford/Getty Images 
An Orlando resident is rescued from floodwaters on Thursday. John Raoux/AP 
Vehicles make their way through flooded streets in Fort Myers on Thursday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images 
Stefanie Karas stands in her flooded apartment in Fort Myers on Thursday. She is an artist and was salvaging what she could from her home. Joe Raedle/Getty Images 
Heavily damaged homes are seen on Sanibel Island on Thursday. Wilfredo Lee/AP 
A spiral staircase lies next to a damaged pickup truck in Sanibel, Florida, on Thursday. Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Presss 
A flooded street is seen in downtown Fort Myers after Ian made landfall on Wednesday, September 28. Marco Bello/Reuters 
A woman surveys damage through a door during a power outage in Fort Myers on Wednesday. Marco Bello/Reuters 
A satellite image shows the hurricane making landfall on the southwest coast of Florida on Wednesday. NOAA/NASA 
The streets of Naples, Florida, are flooded on Wednesday. City officials asked residents to shelter in place until further notice. Naples Police 
A woman is helped out of a muddy area Wednesday in Tampa, Florida, where water was receding due to a negative storm surge. Ben Hendren/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images 
Strong winds hit Punta Gorda on Wednesday. Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images 
A woman holds an umbrella inverted by the wind in Tampa on Wednesday. Ben Hendren/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images 
Sailboats anchored in Roberts Bay are blown around in Venice, Florida, on Wednesday. Pedro Portal/El Nuevo Herald/TNS/Abaca/Reuters 
Melvin Phillips stands in the flooded basement of his mobile home in Stuart, Florida, on Wednesday. Crystal Vander Weit/TCPalm/USA Today Network 
A man walks where water was receding from Tampa Bay on Wednesday. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images 
Damage is seen at the Kings Point condos in Delray Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. Officials believe it was caused by a tornado fueled by Hurricane Ian. Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network 
A TV crew broadcasts from the beach in Fort Myers on Wednesday. Marco Bello/Reuters 
Utility trucks are staged in a rural lot Wednesday in The Villages, a Florida retirement community. Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/AP 
Highways in Tampa are empty Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Ian making landfall. Several coastal counties in western Florida were under mandatory evacuations. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters 
An airplane is overturned in Pembroke Pines, Florida, on Wednesday. Wilfredo Lee/AP 
Zuram Rodriguez surveys the damage around her home in Davie, Florida, early on Wednesday. Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP 
People play dominoes by flashlight during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, on Wednesday. Crews in Cuba have been working to restore power for millions after the storm battered the western region with high winds and dangerous storm surge, causing an islandwide blackout. Ramon Espinosa/AP 
People walk through a flooded street in Batabano, Cuba, on Tuesday. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images 
Southwest Airlines passengers check in near a sign that shows canceled flights at the Tampa International Airport on Tuesday. Chris O'Meara/AP 
Maria Llonch retrieves belongings from her home in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, on Tuesday. Ramon Espinosa/AP 
Traffic builds along Interstate 4 in Tampa on Tuesday. Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel via AP 
A man carries his children through rain and debris in Pinar del Rio on Tuesday. Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters 
People drive through debris in Pinar del Rio on Tuesday. Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters 
Frederic and Mary Herodet board up their Gulf Bistro restaurant in St. Pete Beach, Florida, on Tuesday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images 
NASA's Artemis I rocket rolls back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Tuesday. The launch of the rocket was postponed due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Ian. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images 
Hurricane Ian is seen from the International Space Station on Monday, September 26. NASA via AP 
Waves kick up along the shore of Batabano as Hurricane Ian reaches Cuba on Monday. Ramon Espinosa/AP 
A Cuban family transports personal belongings to a safe place in the Fanguito neighborhood of Havana on Monday. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images 
A family carries a dog to a safe place in Batabano on Monday. Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images 
People wait in lines to fuel their vehicles at a Costco store in Orlando on Monday. Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP 
Ryan Copenhaver, manager of Siesta T's in Sarasota, Florida, installs hurricane panels over the store's windows on Monday. Mike Lang/USA Today Network 
A man helps pull small boats out of Cuba's Havana Bay on Monday. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Imagaes 
Shelves are empty in a supermarket's water aisle in Kissimmee on Monday. Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images 
Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, Florida, references a map Monday that indicates where storm surges would impact the county. During a news conference, she urged anyone living in those areas to evacuate. Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire 
Sarah Peterson fills sandbags in Fort Myers Beach on September 24. Andrew West/USA Today NetworkIn pictures: Hurricane Ian slams the Southeast
Prev Next• Hurricane Ian made landfall in September 2022 along the southwest Florida coast as a Category 4 storm. It killed 150 people and became the costliest storm on record in Florida. Its enormous size and snail’s pace made it exceedingly destructive, with 150-mph winds that battered coastal communities for hours.
Ian brought record storm surge to Fort Myers and Naples, estimated at 10 to 15 feet, NOAA said. For days after landfall, the storm dumped unprecedented volumes of rain across Florida, triggering tremendous river flooding in the weeks that followed.
Category 5: 157 mph or greater
These are the most powerful storms on Earth. Most well-built homes will be destroyed, many stripped to the foundation. Power outages could last for months, and the areas hardest hit could be uninhabitable for months.
A resident looks out of his apartment after Hurricane Andrew in August 1992 blew away its walls. Robert Sullivan/AFP/Getty Images• Hurricane Andrew in August 1992 was one of the worst storms to ever hit the United States, devastating a whole region after it made landfall near Homestead, Florida. Andrew grew from a Category 1 storm to a Category 5 storm in just 36 hours, with maximum winds near Homestead around 165 mph, according to NOAA.
At the time, Andrew was the “costliest and most damaging hurricane ever to hit the United States,” the National Weather Service said.
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