Hurricane Severity Index

The Hurricane Severity Index (or HSI) measures the strength and destructive capability of a storm based on its size and wind intensity.^[1] The HSI attempts to demonstrate that two hurricanes of similar intensity may have different destructive capability due to variances in size, and furthermore that a less intense, but very large hurricane, may in fact be more destructive than a smaller, more intense hurricane. It is very similar to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Hurricane Index, which also factors both size and intensity of a hurricane.^[2] HSI was developed by a private company program in competition with the National Weather Service's accumulated cyclone energy index.