Hurricane Ian approached Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday as a powerful storm just one rating shy of the highest category designation given to storms in the United States.
Storm strength is defined by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which assesses hurricane systems on a rating between 1 and 5, according to the National Hurricane Center. The scale, created by and named for wind engineer Herb Saffir and meteorologist Bob Simpson, is used to forecast wind intensity and potential damage.
