Is this hurricane destructive potential index better than Saffir–Simpson?

[SeekerOfTruth007]

The Saffir-Simpson scale has some flaws in that it doesn't' take into account the size of the storm. For simplicity, I use Wind Speed in Knots divided by 35 knots cubed added to the Square of the Radius of Tropical Storm Force Winds. Like so:

HDPI = (Vmax/35)^3 + (Radius/25)^2

This is because the cube of wind speed is proportional to the Power of the Wind, and Power is "Work per second".

On this scale, the smallest possible Category 1 Saffir-Simpson scale hurricane rates as a 7.4. Here are some notable Tropical Cyclones, their SS scale and their HDPI scale compared.

Cat 1 = 65knots @ 25mile radius-> 7.4 HDPI

Sandy 2012 = Cat 2 = 85knots @ 300mile radius -> 158.3 HDPI

Andrew 1992 (Florida) = Cat 5 = 145knots @ 100 mile radius -> 87.1 HDPI

Katrina 2005 (landfall Louisiana) = Cat 3 = 110knots @ 225mile radius = 112 HDPI*

Charlie 2004 (Florida) = Cat 4 = 135knots @ 50 miles radius = 61.4 HDPI

Patricia (World Record winds) = Cat 5 = 185knots @ 175miles radius = 196.7 HDPI

Typhoon Tip (World Record Low Pressure) = Cat 5 = 165knots @ 500 miles radius = 504.8 HDPI

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I think this new version of my scale balances both the size and power of the winds nicely. There is no upper limit to this scale.

*Most of Katrina's real-world damage was caused by levee failures due to shoddy construction and poor maintenance, not the inherent damage potential of the hurricane.

Updates

3 mo

I forget to add that you further divide the HDPI value by 7.4 (unitary Hurricane Metric) to get how many times more destructive the hurricane is compared to the smallest possible Saffir-Simpson Category 1 storm.

Example: Andrew's HDPI was 87.1 so take 87.1/7.4 = 11.77 ~ 11.8

This means Andrew was around 11.8 times as destructive as the weakest possible Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. This predicts $35.3 Billion in 2011 Dollars damage for Andrew, which was $26 billion 1992.

Updates

3 mo

The above Information may suggest that Andrew's landfall intensity is still being under-estimated by NHC and other Meteorological Organizations. I find some Radar evidence that landfall intensity might have been 165knots or 190mph sustained winds, as "at altitude" winds were clocked at 189knots by Radar just before the Radar broke. This suggest surface wind of 165knots.

[strateguy632]

Both are stupid because they should just estimate wind speed and should only give a general warning but not try to guess details. And certainly not try to guess harm or "destructive potential".

[SeekerOfTruth007]

Wrong. Evacuations are issued based on Destructive Potential. Right now, they use a combination of SSHw scale and Integrated Kinetic Energy, both of which actually under-estimate the real damage slightly. Integrated Kinetic Energy is somewhat better at estimating Storm Surge and Wave Action, while SSHW scale is better at estimating wind damage.

Calculating Destructive Potential helps warn the correct counties and parishes based on the metrics of the storm, otherwise you wouldn't' know who to evacuate first for storms of different wind speeds and different sizes, which would lead to catastrophic loss of life such as misunderstanding the consequences of Katrina at New Orleans, which lead to supposedly 1800 storm related deaths. Had they then realized the surge woudl be 28ft above dry ground and the levees would all be failed, they should have evacuated every person in the city, but it wasn't obvious the levees would be useless.

Most of the "Destructive Potential" is Storm Surge and Wave Action and Inland Flooding. For most middle-tier systems, wind damage is not the primary driver of damage: Water damage is the primary threat. Storms like Andrew and Ida being exceptions.

[strateguy632]

And who said evacuation is correct. It should be personal choice.

[SeekerOfTruth007]

Before modern technology enabled mandatory evacuations being issued, people died by the hundreds and thousands in every storm that popped up.

You don tseem to realize, had the people who evacuated New Orleans not done so for Katrina, the death toll would have been potentially over 100 thousand there. Cyclone Nargis in 2008 killed 108,000 people in one day, because the government there refused to issue evacuations, even though our own weather agencies and european weather agencies gave them a FOUR DAYS warning. In 1972, The Bhola Cyclone killed over 250,000 people in one day, because again, there were no mandatory evacuations.

That would be the real death toll of a Katrina type storm in the USA if it hit New Orleans or Tampa Bay with no evacuation warnings to the people.

The Galveston Hurricane and the Okeechobee Hurricanes prove it can happen right here in the USA, because that one killed so many people they literally nicknamed it "the forgotten hurricane".