A University of South Florida professor is advocating for a new hurricane classification system that would measure storm surge and rainfall alongside wind speed, addressing what researchers say are critical gaps in how hurricane threats are communicated to the public.

Jennifer Collins, a hurricane researcher and professor in USF’s School of Geosciences, co-authored a study published in Scientific Reports proposing the Tropical Cyclone Severity Scale to replace the current Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which has measured storms solely by wind speed since 2012.

The proposed system would rate wind speed, storm surge height, and rainfall each on a scale of 1 to 5, then combine those ratings into an overall category. If one hazard rates higher than others, the storm’s final category matches that level. When two hazards rate Category 3 or higher, the overall rating increases by one, potentially reaching Category 6.

To test the new system’s effectiveness, Collins and her research team conducted an online experiment with 4,000 residents along the Gulf and East coasts. Participants received forecasts for fictional hurricanes using either the current system or the proposed scale. The study found that people were more likely to take precautionary measures when provided information about non-wind hazards.

Collins noted that people frequently use a storm’s category to decide whether to evacuate, calling this “incredibly dangerous” when they hear a storm is only a tropical storm or Category 1. The research cited Hurricane Katrina as an example — listed as Category 3 based on wind in 2005, most of its 1,800 deaths and $125 billion in damage resulted from storm surge and rainfall.

Under the proposed scale, recent storms would receive different ratings. Last year’s Hurricane Debby, which peaked as a Category 1 storm, would have been classified as a Category 3 under the new system, reflecting its greater rainfall threat.

Collins and her colleagues hope to convince the National Hurricane Center to adopt the new scale, though no formal consideration is currently underway.

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