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Please, focus on the PRESSURE.
Pressure is measured in millibars (mb).
And conversely:
LOW pressure = INTENSE storm
Higher pressure means less intensity.
So the LOWER the pressure, the WORSE the storm.
For example, sometimes the news labeled Hurricane Franklin as a Category 2 and sometimes a Category 3.
This because its wind speed vacillated between Category 2 (96–110 mph) and Category 3 (111–129 mph).
But even when its windspeed was in high Category 2 range, its pressure (957 mb) was smack in the middle of Category 3 (945 to 964 mb).
This means people should relate to it as a solid Category 3 hurricane despite however the news labels it.
And they should prepare accordingly.
I remember when Hurricane Ida bulldozed through the United States with the pressure reading of a particularly strong Tropical Storm (the level below a Category 1 hurricane).
But because everyone focused on Ida's windspeed, the news did not prepare people for Ida's strength and consequent destruction.
Conversely, the news often exaggerates a potential hurricane when its pressure indicates it is not a high-intensity storm (as far as hurricanes and tropical storms go, of course).
This causes people to dismiss or minimize future storm warnings.
Therefore, please look up the pressure reading (and its fluctuations) easily on your own, using the NOAA link toward the end of this post.
Here's the chart (to simplify things, this chart only lists the pressure in millibars, not inches, and the speed in miles per hour, not kilometers):
Greater than 980 mb / 74–95 mph
Category 2: Moderate
965 to 979 mb / 96–110 mph
Category 3: Extensive
945 to 964 mb / 111–129 mph
Category 4: Extreme
920 to 944 mb / 130–156 mph
Category 5: Terrible
Less than 919 mb / 157 mph
So at 998 mb, Ida was a particularly strong Tropical Storm over land.
Likewise, a storm fluctuating 6 millibars or more within 3 hours indicates a less stable (and therefore more dangerous) storm.
Look at these screenshots from today, August 30, 2023:
8:00 AM EDT
Please also do not be fooled by Idalia's 9 AM windspeed, and start thinking of Idalia as a high Category 2 or a low Category 3. Idalia's smack-in-the-middle Category 3 pressure makes Idalia a solid Category 3 hurricane (at that time, anyway).
So for anyone in the path, please relate to Idalia as an unstable Category 3 hurricane at this time, whether that means escape or fortification.
You can always & easily check the pressure and windspeed of storms in the North Pacific, Central Pacific, and North Atlantic here:
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
But you can get more recent updates (like within the past half-hour at the time of this writing) by doing an Internet search.
For example, Idalia eased up to 964 millibars half an hour ago (barely remaining in Category 3) with a windspeed of 105 mph (well within Category 2).
Hopefully, the storm will keep easing up. At this time, because of the pressure, I'd consider Idalia a borderline Category 2/Category 3 and relate accordingly.
But I see by the storms fluctuations just within today, Idalia remains unstable, careening from 958 mb to 940 mb within 3 hours, then to 950 within the next 3 hours.
See here:
https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/atlantic/2023/hurricane-idalia
May Hashem please help everyone remain safe among these storms.