Portal:Tropical cyclones/Featured article/Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale (SSHS) is a scale classifying most Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the levels of "tropical depression" and "tropical storm" and thereby become hurricanes. The "categories" it divides hurricanes into are distinguished by the intensities of their respective 1-minute sustained wind speeds. The classifications are intended primarily for use in gauging the likely damage and storm surge flooding a hurricane will cause upon landfall. The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale is used only to describe hurricanes that form in the Atlantic Ocean and northern Pacific Ocean east of the International Date Line. Other areas label their tropical cyclones as "cyclones" or "typhoons", and use their own classification systems.

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