Category 1: Minimal - Might blow over your tool shed and damage a few plants. Lowest roads flood. Winds at 74-95 mph.
Category 2: Moderate - Some building damage and a lot of plants and trees down. Mobile homes don't fare very well, either. Low-lying evacuation routes will be flooded 2-4 hours before the center of the storm arrives. This is when you start wondering if you secured your boat well enough. Winds at 96-110 mph.
Category 3: Extensive - Kiss your mobile home goodbye. Some structural damage to buildings. Flooding on the coast and anything less than 5 foot above sea level as far as 8 miles inland. Winds at 111-130 mph.
Category 4: Extreme - Your mobile home is in Tampa now, and roofs are blowing off houses. Lots of damage to lower levels of buildings on the beach, and inland terrain lower than 10 foot above sea level will flood. Winds at 131-155 mph.
Category 5: Catastrophic - You did evacuate didn't you? If not, this is when you kiss your butt goodbye. Roofs are blowing off left and right, and some buildings are just blown completely away (not even counting mobiles - they were gone long ago). Beachside buildings are going to be a huge mess on all the lower floors that they have. If you rode out the storm inland you better be on a ridge at least 15 foot above sea level, or you're going to be flooded.Winds at 156 mph..."
