At the moment there is no such thing as a Category 6 storm, but if there was Typhoon Haiyan would most certainly qualify as one. Seeing that nobody yet is willing to make such a category because category 5 does such a proper job of destroying everything, perhaps it is time category 6 is added to the list to better move the reluctant people who attend climate change summits to understand climate change fallout is present tense and not future tense.
When you take a look at the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale you will note that on average it is roughly a 20 MPH wind speed range for each category.
- Category 1 is 74 to 95 a range of 21 MPH.
- Category 2 is 96 to 110 a range of 14 MPH.
- Category 3 is 111 to 129 a range of 18 MPH.
- Category 4 is 130 to 156 a range of 26 MPH.
- Category 5 is 157 MPH and higher.
so if you average category 1 to 4 range, you come up with 19.75 MPH. Now granted once you get to category 5 not much is left standing anyways. The description for Category 5 is as follows:
Catastrophic damage will occur: A high percentage of framed homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.
Now granted the only difference between a Category 5 and a theoretical Category 6 is how far what was once whole will fly away before it finally comes to a rest based on US 2013 building codes. But with the general assumption that major changes to building codes will be implemented to compensate for the stronger storms due to climate change, a Category 6 is likely to be added to the list. So looking at the slope of increase, Category 6 would be from 190 to 220 MPH. Seeing that Typhoon Haiyan was 195 MPH, it does indeed qualify as a Category 6.
But then again Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines, and building codes there can be based on whatever you can find to nail or lash together. But when a 50 foot tall wall of water comes rushing down Main Street, it does not much matter as only solid concrete structures are likely to survive. When rescue workers describe the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan as looking like Tsunami damage, you can understand why.
So this all brings us back to the reality check that Climate change is here and now, and way too many tipping points have passed for us to be able to stop it any time soon short of several major volcano eruptions all going on at the same time. So with that thought, you can expect someone sooner or later to come up with the idea of stuffing nukes down the throats of isolated volcanos to stimulate eruptions. Plan ‘B’ would be an asteroid, but that is still far from what we can technically do. In either case, they would both be seen as desperate measures, and that decision may come when the global population starts to drop as nature does its thing to restore balance.
