{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,30]],"date-time":"2026-08-30T09:10:10Z","timestamp":1788081010284,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"National Academy of Sciences","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,5]],"date-time":"2024-02-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1707091200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"US Department of Energy, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Regional and Global Model Analysis Program","award":["DE340AC02-05CH11231"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DE340AC02-05CH11231"]}]},{"name":"University of Wisconsin -Madison, Space Science and Engineeriing Center","award":["none"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["none"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.pnas.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,13]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Global warming increases available sensible and latent heat energy, increasing the thermodynamic potential wind intensity of tropical cyclones (TCs). Supported by theory, observations, and modeling, this causes a shift in mean TC intensity, which tends to manifest most clearly at the greatest intensities. The Saffir\u2013Simpson scale for categorizing damage based on the wind intensity of TCs was introduced in the early 1970s and remains the most commonly used metric for public communication of the level of wind hazard that a TC poses. Because the scale is open-ended and does not extend beyond category 5 (70 m\/s windspeed or greater), the level of wind hazard conveyed by the scale remains constant regardless of how far the intensity extends beyond 70 m\/s. This may be considered a weakness of the scale, particularly considering that the destructive potential of the wind increases exponentially. Here, we consider how this weakness becomes amplified in a warming world by elucidating the past and future increases of peak wind speeds in the most intense TCs. A simple extrapolation of the Saffir\u2013Simpson scale is used to define a hypothetical category 6, and we describe the frequency of TCs, both past and projected under global warming, that would fall under this category. We find that a number of recent storms have already achieved this hypothetical category 6 intensity and based on multiple independent lines of evidence examining the highest simulated and potential peak wind speeds, more such storms are projected as the climate continues to warm.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2308901121","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,5]],"date-time":"2024-02-05T15:09:16Z","timestamp":1707145756000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.cm10313","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":35,"title":["The growing inadequacy of an open-ended Saffir\u2013Simpson hurricane wind scale in a warming world"],"prefix":"10.1073","volume":"121","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5991-0082","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michael F.","family":"Wehner","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Applied Mathematics and Computational Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"James P.","family":"Kossin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"First Street Foundation, Brooklyn, NY 11201"},{"name":"Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison, Madison, WI 11201"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"341","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_1_2","first-page":"4","article-title":"Hurricane wind and storm surge","volume":"423","author":"Saffir H. 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