Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, index of tropical cyclone intensity that classifies a storm’s wind speed into one of five divisions, or categories. The Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale was developed by American structural engineer Herbert Saffir and American meteorologist Robert H. Simpson (who served as the director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center from 1968 to 1973) in 1971 to help government officials and the public understand the risks posed by an impending tropical cyclone and the amount of property damage and associated impacts that would likely stem from it. The tool was first adopted for use in 1975, and it is the official scale used to classify tropical cyclones occurring in the Atlantic Ocean and northern Pacific Ocean basins east of the International Date Line. Category 1 tropical cyclones are considered the mildest of these types of storms, whereas category 5 tropical cyclones are considered to be the most severe.
