But what do those category numbers — 1 through 5 — actually mean? The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is used to rank hurricanes based on their sustained wind speeds.

Since 2019, eight storms—2019’s Humberto, 2020’s Zeta, 2021’s Sam and Larry, 2022’s Earl, 2023’s Franklin and 2024’s Isaac and Rafael—increased by at least 25 mph (40 kph) in wind ...

Researchers say five storms since 2013 had wind speeds that could categorize them as a Category 6 hurricane or cyclone — and that climate change will only make such intense storms more frequent.

Since 2019, eight storms — 2019′s Humberto, 2020′s Zeta, 2021′s Sam and Larry, 2022′s Earl, 2023′s Franklin and 2024′s Isaac and Rafael — increased by at least 25 mph in wind speed.

Since 2019, eight storms — 2019's Humberto, 2020's Zeta, 2021's Sam and Larry, 2022's Earl, 2023's Franklin and 2024's Isaac and Rafael — increased by at least 25 mph (40 kph) in wind speed.

News Climate change goosed hurricane wind strength by 18 mph since 2019, study says Published: Nov. 20, 2024, 7:36 a.m.