Final answer:
The severity of hurricanes is determined using the Saffir-Simpson scale, with categories ranging from 1 to 5 based on maximum sustained wind speeds. The scale shows that hurricanes become exponentially more powerful as their wind speeds increase, with Category 5 being the most severe.
Step-by-step explanation:
The severity of hurricanes is categorized by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which classifies hurricanes from Category 1 to 5, with Category 5 being the most severe. This scale is largely based on the hurricane's maximum sustained wind speeds. For example, once winds reach a sustained speed of 74 miles per hour, a storm is classified as a hurricane. Category 1 hurricanes have wind speeds of 74-95 mph, while Category 5 hurricanes have wind speeds exceeding 157 mph. As the power of a hurricane increases exponentially with the cube of wind velocity, a hurricane with wind speeds of 50 m/s (approximately 112 mph) would be significantly more destructive than lighter winds. For instance, compared to a light breeze of 5 m/s, a 50 m/s hurricane-strength wind is 1000 times more powerful because the power scales with the cube of the velocity (50^3 / 5^3).