What is the highest category on the Saffir-Simpson scale?

What is the highest category on the Saffir–Simpson scale? Category 5 is the highest category on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale.

The scale ranks hurricanes from Category 1 through Category 5 using maximum sustained one-minute wind speed. Category 5 begins at 157 mph (252 km/h), and its rating describes catastrophic wind damage. The scale does not extend to Category 6 or Category 7.

The system was developed in the early 1970s by civil engineer Herbert Saffir and meteorologist Robert Simpson. It originally incorporated storm surge, but the modern version used by the U.S. National Hurricane Center is based only on wind speed. Category 3, 4, and 5 storms are collectively called major hurricanes.

A common mix-up is treating Category 5 as a precise measure of a storm’s total danger. The scale does not directly measure rainfall, storm surge, flooding, tornadoes, or size. A lower-category hurricane can still be extremely destructive, especially if it produces severe flooding or strikes a densely populated area.