Extreme Temperature Diary- Monday November 3rd, 2025/Main Topic: More Calls for Category 6 With Hurricanes – Guy On Climate
Dear Diary. Because of Hurricane Melissa’s top sustained winds getting up to 185 mph, there are more calls for starting a Category 6 for hurricanes attaining winds above 190 mph. Let’s review categorical definitions used by the National Hurricane Center:
CategorySustained WindsTypes of Damage Due to Hurricane Winds|
| 1 | 74-95 mph
64-82 kt
119-153 km/h | Very dangerous winds will produce some damage: Well-constructed frame homes could have damage to roof, shingles, vinyl siding and gutters. Large branches of trees will snap and shallowly rooted trees may be toppled. Extensive damage to power lines and poles likely will result in power outages that could last a few to several days. | | 2 | 96-110 mph
83-95 kt
154-177 km/h | Extremely dangerous winds will cause extensive damage: Well-constructed frame homes could sustain major roof and siding damage. Many shallowly rooted trees will be snapped or uprooted and block numerous roads. Near-total power loss is expected with outages that could last from several days to weeks. | 3
(major) | 111-129 mph
96-112 kt
178-208 km/h | Devastating damage will occur: Well-built framed homes may incur major damage or removal of roof decking and gable ends. Many trees will be snapped or uprooted, blocking numerous roads. Electricity and water will be unavailable for several days to weeks after the storm passes. | 4
(major) | 130-156 mph
113-136 kt
209-251 km/h | Catastrophic damage will occur: Well-built framed homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and/or some exterior walls. Most trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months. | 5
(major) | 157 mph or higher
137 kt or higher
252 km/h or higher | 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. |
Notice that at the high end of the scale the threshold for category 4 hurricanes is 130 mph. Once we see a system reach 157 mph it becomes a monster category 5. What if a hurricane reaches 185 mph or higher? At 185 mph using 2nd grade math we would have a system that is 28 mph stronger than threshold category 5 strength and about the same difference between the threshold for category 4 and 5. Would it not make sense to have a new top end category to account for systems getting roughly 25 mph stronger than the threshold for category 5?
I was calling for Category 6 as early as 2018 because of Irma:
For more pictures that I did not repost, hit the following link:
Extreme Temperature Diary- June 3, 2018/ Hot Topic: Calling for Category 6 – Guy On Climate
Before and since then other climate scientists have called for establishing a Category 6. Here is more grin the Independent:
As climate change super-sizes our storms, should our categories reflect that?
Thoughtful comments and discussion (all too rare today) from @weatherprof.bsky.social, @michaelemann.bsky.social, myself and others.
Check it out and LMK - what do YOU think? — Katharine Hayhoe (@katharinehayhoe.com) 2025-11-02T20:26:35.614Z
Category 6 is the new hurricane normal, say scientists | The Independent
Category 6 is the new hurricane normal. Why scientists say we need to rethink what we know about stormsHuman-caused climate change is making major hurricanes like Melissa much stronger, faster and ultimately more life-threatening Julia Musto in New York
Friday 31 October 2025
Thought Category 5 was as bad as a hurricane could get? Think again.
As Hurricane Melissa barrels off into the Atlantic after devastating Jamaica and Cuba, some scientists say the age of Category 6 hurricanes is now upon us.
Storms fueled by human-caused climate change are stronger, intensify more rapidly and move faster than ever before, bringing destructive winds that rip off roofs and flooding coastal communities with feet of fast-moving ocean water that can linger for days after the immediate danger has passed, experts say.
Hurricanes are already exceeding the highest level of the wind-driven Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which measures the amount of damage expected, capping off at “catastrophic” maximum sustained wind speeds of 157 miles per hour. Five tropical cyclones that formed since 2013 would have been deemed Category 6 hurricanes if such a classification existed.
Now, experts believe the 5 scale may no longer meet the moment and this week’s Hurricane Melissa is reinforcing that belief.
 People search for food on the streets of Jamaica’s Black River community Wednesday following the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Scientists say climate-fueled storms like Melissa may necessitate the need for an increased hurricane scale AFP via Getty Images
The Category 5 storm – Jamaica’s worst on record – came close to a Category 6 hurricane, climatologist Dr. Michael Mann, Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, told The Independent.
It’s been proposed that such a hurricane would have maximum sustained winds of 192 miles per hour and could do much more damage than structures designed to withstand Category 5 winds are able to handle.
“I wouldn’t rule out that in post-season analysis, the wind estimates are upgraded, possibly breaching the ‘Cat. 6’ cut-off),” he said in an email, agreeing that these supercharged storms are the new normal and that we need to rethink how they are classified going forward.
“As long as we’re using wind-based metrics, it simply doesn’t make sense (mathematically, or fiscally and sociologically) to artificially cap the scale at 5 any more,” he said.
Adding Category 6 to the 2010-dated Saffir-Simpson scale would recognize the increasingly worrisome effects of climate change on hurricanes, including the greater risk of damage posed by worse storms, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, Chief Scientist of The Nature Conservancy, told The Independent.
 People walk through a flooded street Thursday in Petit-Goave, Haiti, following the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Much of the damage posed by hurricanes is related to precipitation, with warmer atmospheres able to hold more moisture (AFP via Getty Images)
She believes that there may also need to be a “full redo” of the scale to take precipitation into account, which is responsible for the majority of hurricane-related economic impacts.
“The argument over whether or not to add a Category 6 to the Saffir-Simpson scale actually ignores the forest for the trees because we’re now seeing that flooding damage is arguably just as if not a greater issue,” said Hayhoe.
However, not all scientists agree there’s a need to add to the scale — or even feel that strongly about it.
“I don’t think we need a Category 6. Uninhabitable for weeks or months is about as bad as it gets with hurricanes!” Colorado State University meteorologist Dr. Phil Klotzbach told The Independent in an email.
“The Saffir-Simpson scale has been around for decades,” Dr. Zachary Handlos, director of the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Undergraduate Degree Program at Georgia Tech University, told WCNC. “If we change it, it becomes difficult to compare new storms to old ones unless we reanalyze past data. We’d be moving the goalposts for what defines a ‘major’ hurricane.”
“I don’t firmly feel either way,” meteorologist Jeff Berardelli wrote in a post on X. “But I do think if we continue to see these ‘league of their own storms then we need a way to separate ‘the men from the boys,’ if you will.”
What that may look like remains uncertain, but the reality is that climate change is making furiously strengthening storms like Melissa more likely, with major threats to humanity.
 Hurricane Melissa churns over the Caribbean Sea. Melissa was one of the fastest intensifying storms of all time (Getty Images)
Melissa was one of the fastest intensifying storms of all time and tied for the most powerful storm for wind speed and pressure in the North Atlantic.
A recent study from Imperial College London found that Melissa was made four times more likely by human-induced climate change, boosting its wind speed by 11 miles per hour.
Warming ocean temperatures are part of what’s making hurricane winds stronger, Daniel Gilford, a meteorologist and atmospheric scientist with Climate Central, told The Independent.
“In the case of Melissa, we found that the extra ocean warming … increased Melissa’s intensity by something by 10 miles per hour which pushed it up to 185 miles per hour [maximum sustained winds],” he explained.
 A resident of the town of El Cobre, Cuba, walks past downed trees, power lines and destroyed houses following the passage of Hurricane Melissa on Wednesday. The storm was made four times more likely due to climate change (AFP via Getty Images)
“So, we are sort of in this regime where these storms are kind of what we would think about as at the very top of our scale when it comes to intensity for the Saffir-Simpson scale.”
And, unless atmosphere-warming greenhouse gas emissions produced largely by the fossil fuel industry are curbed, these threats will continue to get worse.
“We are stuck with the world that we have now. We are stuck with the climate warming that we’ve experienced – about 1.3 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial [levels]. We are going to live during with our lifetimes with that temperature,” said Gilford. “So, these hurricanes are going to be more intense during our lifetimes.”
Here are more “ET’s” recorded from around the planet the last couple of days, their consequences, and some extreme temperature outlooks, as well as any extreme precipitation reports:
The current level of anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere is insane, we are past the 2023/2024 anomalies and the +1C vs 1991/2020
Note specially the anomalies from 30N to 80N: It's brutal and there is not a bit of hype here.
It is what it is: insane
Maps kudos:Tropicaltibit & Ryan Maue — Extreme Temperatures Around the World (@extremetemps.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T02:51:30.356Z
HISTORIC NOVEMBER SUMMER
Hundreds of records allover Asia and Africa
42C on Senegalese coast
Incredible 40C Noadibhou Atlantic MAURITANIA November record broken by 3C ! (data since 1903)
33.8 CANARY ISLANDS
33C in TURKEY, dozens records including
32.1 Osmaniye
Summer will go on — Extreme Temperatures Around the World (@extremetemps.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T18:49:17.395Z
‼️EXTRAORDINARY HEAT
41.0C at Moshav Roi (Akol Net)
ISRAEL HOTTEST NOVEMBER DAY IN HISTORY
Exceptional heat at Jerusalem min 22.0 max 31.8
NOVEMBER RECORDS SMASHED
Record also 32.0 Queen Eliya JORDAN
EXTRAORDINARY RECORDS HIGH MINIMUMS
29.8 Qaboos Port ,OMAN
25.0 Aswan EGYPT — Extreme Temperatures Around the World (@extremetemps.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T15:20:31.800Z
More exceptional November heat in SOUTH ASIA
INDIA Record High Minimums
28.2 Nellore
27.7 Veraval
27.5 Narsapur
26.2 Tuni
and DOZENS more
PAKISTAN
38.5 Turbat
37.5 Gawadar
again November records
170+ countries are breaking records:
We are living HISTORY,absolutely unprecedented — Extreme Temperatures Around the World (@extremetemps.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T11:06:25.578Z
Historic November warmth in COLORADO
83F or 28.3C at Denver Int. AP smashed its November record of highest temperature — Extreme Temperatures Around the World (@extremetemps.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T08:34:13.176Z
‘A devastating global audit’ shows how climate change is undermining the health of millions.
Extreme heat now kills one person every minute, according to a sweeping new report by the British medical journal The Lancet.
grist.org/health/lance...
#Climate #Health #PublicHealth #Heat — Grist (@grist.org) 2025-11-03T15:03:21.624Z
"The future is still being written. Through choices in policy, investment, education, and care for one another and the Earth, we can still create a turning point. It begins by embracing our shared humanity and recognizing the profound interconnectedness of all life on the planet" — Dr. Aaron Thierry (@thierryaaron.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T05:37:16.336Z
A greater focus on the nitrogen cycle could improve climate modeling, suggests new research. — Eos (@eos.org) 2025-11-02T16:45:05.871Z
🧪🧵 Future change to #ThwaitesGlacier, Antarctica constitutes the largest uncertainty in #sea-level rise forecasts. The Science Coordination Office of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration recently issued a briefing document summarising some key findings - thwaitesglacier.org/findings — Rob Larter (@polarrobs.bsky.social) 2025-10-26T21:35:08.355Z
Death cult does it's thing.
Exxon funded thinktanks to spread climate denial in Latin America.
Texas-based fossil fuel company financed Atlas Network in attempt to derail UN-led #climate treaty process.
www.theguardian.com/environment/... — Dr Paul Dorfman (@drpauldorfman.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T08:22:37.184Z
I'm not a journalist, I'm a scientist - but I'm trying to do my part! www.talkingclimate.ca — Katharine Hayhoe (@katharinehayhoe.com) 2025-11-03T21:39:40.672Z
Join us online tomorrow ⬇️ — Katharine Hayhoe (@katharinehayhoe.com) 2025-11-03T20:22:55.839Z
— Dr Paul Dorfman (@drpauldorfman.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T08:54:42.685Z
"Wherever the death toll, it will be wrong. A study following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017 found that excess deaths in the first few months following the storm was 70 times as much as the original official toll of 64 — still much more than officials' revision to 2,975 deaths later on." — Dr. Jeff Masters (@drjeffmasters.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T15:00:42.098Z
Global solar boom tempers climate change pessimism www.semafor.com/article/10/3... — Dr Paul Dorfman (@drpauldorfman.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T09:40:54.637Z
— Dr Paul Dorfman (@drpauldorfman.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T08:47:04.979Z
— Dr Paul Dorfman (@drpauldorfman.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T08:44:42.047Z
Maine and Connecticut both want to achieve 100% clean power by 2040 — so they’re exploring a collaboration to get the job done faster. — Canary Media Inc. (@canarymedia.com) 2025-11-03T01:05:00.826Z
Wind power has saved UK consumers over £100 billion since 2010 – new study
theconversation.com/wind-power-h... — Dr Paul Dorfman (@drpauldorfman.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T08:42:57.267Z
#Australia — Dr Paul Dorfman (@drpauldorfman.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T08:41:05.940Z
The rules have changed: "US accused of threatening EU diplomats during bid to kill green shipping rules. Negotiators at shipping talks in London were told both they and their countries could be punished unless they voted with the U.S." www.politico.eu/article/us-a... — Social Media Lab (@socialmedialab.ca) 2025-11-03T16:40:24.476Z
Mitsubishi debuts 640 kW heat pump providing hot water up to 90 C www.pv-magazine.com/2025/10/06/m... — Dr Paul Dorfman (@drpauldorfman.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T08:36:06.287Z
London mayor says government should stay true to its beliefs and face down those who claim net zero adds to cost of living
www.theguardian.com/environment/... — Dr Paul Dorfman (@drpauldorfman.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T08:11:49.143Z
New tests of the U.S. nuclear weapons system ordered by Trump will not include nuclear explosions,
apnews.com/article/trum... — Dr Paul Dorfman (@drpauldorfman.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T08:16:42.754Z
Recently we’ve launched our 2025 Holiday Gift Guide, and we’re taking a closer look at what’s inside, continuing with jewelry.
Explore more here: kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-ho... — The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) 2025-11-03T16:39:54.730Z
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