Herbert Saffir
Encyclopedia
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
, for measuring the intensity of hurricanes. As recently as 2005, Saffir was the principal of Saffir Engineering in Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....
. He has published articles on designing buildings for high wind resistance.
Education and early career
Saffir graduated from the Georgia Institute of TechnologyGeorgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
in 1940 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. Saffir worked for Dade County, Florida beginning in 1947 as an assistant county engineer, and worked on updating the county building code
Building code
A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. The main purpose of building codes are to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the...
. Since that time, he had traveled extensively to study windstorm damage for clues to improvements and has been a tireless advocate for stricter codes in hurricane-prone areas.
Later career
In 1965, while working on a study of windstorm damage on low-cost housing commissioned by the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, Saffir developed a scale to categorize the intensity of hurricanes by their maximum wind speed. In 1969, his friend Robert Simpson
Bob Simpson (meteorologist)
Dr. Robert Homer Simpson is a meteorologist, hurricane specialist, first director of the National Hurricane Research Project , and a former director of the National Hurricane Center...
, then-director of the National Hurricane Center
National Hurricane Center
The National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of the National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting weather systems within the tropics between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 30th...
, added information on the potential storm surge and range of central pressures for each category, resulting in what later became known as the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
.
Saffir survived the burning of the cruise ship SS Morro Castle
SS Morro Castle
The SS Morro Castle was a luxury cruise ship of the 1930s that was built for the Ward Line for runs between New York City and Havana, Cuba...
on 8 September 1934. The ship was en route from Havana to New York when it caught fire and burned, killing a total of 137 passengers and crew members. Saffir, who was employed as a bellboy on the ship, floated for nearly five hours before being rescued, according to his account related to friends.
On 21 November 2007 Herbert Saffir died of a heart attack at South Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
Hospital, according to his son, Richard Saffir.