Saffir- Simpson Category | Maximum Sustained Wind Speed (m s-1) | Minimum Surface Pressure (mb) | Storm Surge (m) | Relative Value and Damaging Effects |
1 | 33 to 42 | > 980 | 1.0 to 1.7 | 1 - Minimal |
2 | 43 to 49 | 979 to 965 | 1.8 to 2.6 | 10 - Moderate |
3 | 50 to 58 | 964 to 945 | 2.7 to 3.8 | 50 - Extensive |
4 | 59 to 69 | 944 to 920 | 3.9 to 5.6 | 250 - Extreme |
5 | > 69 | < 920 | > 5.6 | 500 - Catastrophic |
Summary of the twelve upper-air stations used for the August through
October index of 200 mb zonal winds for the Caribbean. Listed
along with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) number is
the station name and coordinates.WMO
number
Station
Latitude
Longitiude
76644 Merida, Mexico 21.0°N 89.5°W
78367 Guantanamo, Cuba 19.9°N 75.2°W
78384 Roberts Field, Grand Cayman 19.3°N 81.3°W
78397 Kingston, Jamaica 17.9°N 76.8°W
78501 Swan Island 17.4°N 83.9°
78526 San Juan, Puerto Rico 18.4°N 66.0°W
78806 Balboa, Canal Zone 8.8°N 79.6°W
78866 St. Martin 18.1°N 63.1°W
78954 Seawell, Barbados 13.1°N 59.5°W
78970 Piarco, Trinidad 10.6°N 61.4°W
78988 Curacao 12.2°N 69.0°W
80001 San Andres Island, Columbia 12.6°N 81.7°W
Differences significant at the 0.01 level are indicated by
"***", at the 0.05 level by "**", and at the 0.10 level by "*".
Mean (median for U.S. normalized damage) values for Atlantic tropical
cyclone activity based upon Atlantic Multidecadal Mode
variations. Differences between warm North Atlantic (all years)
and cold North Atlantic (all years) are tested for significance
in the last column.Tropical Cyclone Index
Cold North Warm North Cold North Warm North Cold North Significance
(Years available) 1899-1925
1926-70 1971-94 All Years All Years
Named/Subtropical Storms (1944-94) - 9.9 9.2 9.9 9.2
Hurricanes (1944-94) - 6.2 5.0 6.2 5.0 **
Intense Hurricanes (1944-94) - 2.7 1.5 2.7 1.5 ***
Hurricane Days (1944-94) - 27.7 16.5 27.7 16.5 ***
Mean Intensity (1944-94) - 39.5 37.4 39.5 37.4 *
Peak Intensity (1944-94) - 62.5 62.0 62.5 62.0
Northern Named/Subtropical Storms (1944-94) - 4.0 5.3
4.0 5.3 **
Southern Named/Subtropical Storms (1944-94) - 5.9 3.9
5.9 3.9 ***
Caribbean Hurricanes (1944-94) - 1.5 0.5 1.5 0.5 ***
U.S. Hurricanes (1899-1994) 1.7 2.1 1.4 2.1 1.6 *
U.S. East Coast Intense Hurricanes (1899-1994) 0.22 0.53 0.17
0.53 0.20 **
U.S. Gulf Coast Intense Hurricanes (1899-1994) 0.41 0.36 0.29
0.36 0.35
U.S. Normalized Damage (1925-94) $0 $1,747 $528
$1,747 $317
Correlations significant at the 0.01 level are indicated by
"***", at the 0.05 level by "**", and at the 0.10 level by "*".
Correlations of normalized U.S. hurricane damages versus indices
of Atlantic basin hurricane activity. Correlations are
calculated for the years 1944-1996 for the all-basin activity
and the Caribbean hurricanes and 1925-1996 for the U.S.
landfalling hurricanes.
Tropical
Cyclone Index
Linear Correlation
Coefficient (r)
Named/Subtropical Storms 0.00
Hurricanes +0.12
Intense Hurricanes +0.08
Hurricane Days +0.15
Mean Intensity +0.26 **
Peak Intensity +0.21 *
Northern Named/Subtropical Storms 0.00
Southern Named/Subtropical Storms +0.02
Caribbean Hurricanes +0.16
U.S. Hurricanes +0.51 ***
U.S. East Coast Intense Hurricanes +0.61 ***
U.S. Gulf Coast Intense Hurricanes +0.29 ***
Significance levels are adjusted to account for any serial
correlation (Reid et al. (1989)).