AccuWeather's RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes

AccuWeather

The AccuWeather RealImpact&trade; Scale for Hurricanes categorizes storms on a six-point scale. Like the Saffir-Simpson Scale, the AccuWeather RealImpact&trade; Scale for Hurricanes uses a 1 to 5 rating but also includes an additional rating of "Less than 1."

Transcript

00:00Well today we're explaining a powerful tool that AccuWeather introduced over six and a half years

00:05ago to help better understand the full impact of tropical weather. It's called the AccuWeather

00:10Real Impact Scale for hurricanes and it's designed to give individuals and businesses

00:14clear practical insight into the threats posed by hurricanes and tropical storms.

00:19You may be familiar with the Saffir-Simpson scale which ranks storms by wind speed alone

00:23but the AccuWeather Real Impact Scale for hurricanes takes a step further. This innovative

00:28scale categorizes storms on a six-point scale from less than one to five. The less than one rating

00:34is particularly helpful because it gives insight into hurricanes and tropical storms that don't

00:38quite reach category one on the Saffir-Simpson scale but can still cause significant destruction,

00:44injury or loss of life. What makes the AccuWeather Real Impact Scale so unique is that it's based on

00:49a variety of factors not just wind speed. It considers flooding rainfall including inland flooding, high

00:55winds, storm surge and the total damage and economic loss from the storm. On average things like inland

01:00flooding and storm surge tend to result in more deaths and property damage than wind speed alone and

01:05this means the scale provides a more comprehensive picture of the storm's potential impact helping

01:10people and businesses make better decisions when tropical weather threatens. The Real Impact Scale

01:15for hurricanes proved effective during Hurricane Ida back in 2021. Ida Category 4 storm caused damage in

01:22Louisiana with over 10 inches of rain and 150 mile per hour winds even after losing hurricane status.

01:29AccuWeather labeled it a tropical rainstorm to highlight ongoing dangers including heavy rainfall and flooding.

01:34Ida resulted in more than 50 deaths across the northeast. Again the AccuWeather Real Impact Scale

01:39for hurricanes will prove to be a helpful helpful tool for this 2025 hurricane season.

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