Transcript:

As the climate warms and hurricanes get more intense, some scientists say we need a new Category 6 rating for the strongest, most dangerous storms.

Hurricane categories are based on wind speed, and any storm with winds of 157 miles per hour or more is a Category 5.

But I-I Lin, an atmospheric scientist at the National Taiwan University, says storms with winds above 184 miles per hour deserve their own category.

That includes storms like Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines in 2013, killing thousands.

Lin: “It was catastrophic to [the] Philippines.”

Lin’s research shows that Category 6 storms have become more common in the past decade.

And she says they can be much more destructive than Category 5 storms, which are already extremely dangerous.

Lin: “If you compare a regular Category 5 versus a Category 6 like Haiyan, you can have destructive potential doubling.”

Hurricane categories do not take into account rainfall or storm surge, which can also cause damage.

But Lin says a new Category 6 would better convey the growing danger of powerful hurricanes as the climate warms.

Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media