Hurricane Category Calculator
Reviewed by Hamza Gujjar, Algorithm Architect & Software Developer
Last updated: July 28, 2026Hurricane Category Calculator
Look up the official hurricane category for a given sustained wind speed using the Saffir-Simpson scale.
Reference: Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
Tropical Storm: 39-73 mph | Cat 1: 74-95 | Cat 2: 96-110 | Cat 3: 111-129 | Cat 4: 130-156 | Cat 5: 157+
Example
120 mph sustained winds:
Category 3 Hurricane (Major)
What This Scale Does and Doesn't Measure
The Saffir-Simpson scale classifies hurricanes strictly by sustained wind speed - it does not directly account for storm surge, rainfall totals, or the storm's overall physical size, all of which independently drive real-world damage and flooding risk.
Why "Major Hurricane" Status Matters
Category 3 and above are officially classified as "major hurricanes," a threshold meteorologists and emergency planners treat as a significant risk escalation point - a lower-category storm can still cause severe overall damage through storm surge or rainfall flooding despite its lower wind-based category.