Are We Ready for a Hurricane Impact Index?

Friday, 3:45-5:30 p.m., Interlocken B

The Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale has been used for more than 30 years and while proven useful, it has also led to confusion. Hurricane Katrina, for example, made landfall as a Category 3 storm, but created storm surge at a Category 5 level. Hurricane Ike was a Category 2 storm at landfall, yet wind and storm surge damage was at a level usually associated with Category 3 or 4 storms.

This session will present examples of proposed and experimental impact indices and explore how such an index could be useful for the resilience of coastal communities—especially as global warming continues to affect storm surge and extreme precipitation. Is it time to bring about a true hurricane impact scale?

John Gaynor, Moderator
NOAA Office of Weather and Air Quality

Hugh Gladwin, Panelist
Florida International University Institute for Public Opinion Research

Margaret Davidson, Panelist
NOAA Coastal Services Center

Timothy Reinhold, Panelist
Institute for Business and Home Safety

Ricardo Alvarez, Panelist
Florida Center for Environmental Studies

Marshall Mabry, Panelist
FEMA National Hurricane Program