Incredible simulation shows the difference between hurricane categories in real time

If you've ever had the misfortune to be in the path of a hurricane, then you'll know the destructive power they can wreak upon the land.

Even if you've never had the acute displeasure of having the catastrophic weather event come and wreck your place, you'll almost certainly have heard of what they can do to places.

In that time, you'll have heard of hurricanes having different categories to measure severity, but you might not know what they really meant.

We'll explain them to you with the help of a handy and somewhat scary simulation from The Weather Channel, which shows just how much damage a hurricane can cause as it becomes more severe.

The simulation video shows how with each category of hurricane, the damage it would cause to a family home increases in severity until the roof is being torn off by the high winds.

The Weather Channel

Category 1 is for hurricanes where the wind is going at between 74 and 95 mph, at these speeds most buildings will be absolutely fine but coastal areas might suffer from flooding and some less secure trees could be blown over.

You still wouldn't want to be outside in it, but if you stayed indoors you ought to be fine, while the next step up is Category 2 for storms between 96 and 110 mph.

At this level, buildings might take some minor damage, especially if loose objects blowing around outside are blown into them, and affected areas might struggle as access to water and electricity is at risk.

Things get really serious with Category 3 where the wind travels at between 111 and 129 mph, as the simulation shows that homes can start to take more damage and people might need to be evacuated.

It gets even worse in Category 4, with winds between 130 and 156 mph, where signs and trees are torn out of the ground and roofs can be ripped off houses, which needless to say makes an evacuation likely.

The Weather Channel

Anything above 156mph is a Category 5 hurricane, the deadliest and most dangerous of them all, which can lead to buildings being destroyed, many trees being torn away and evacuations becoming likely, particularly in coastal areas.

As the simulation shows, the walls of a house would start to collapse from the speed of the wind in such conditions and even worse would be the damage caused by debris being blown about.

All those trees torn out of the ground have got to go somewhere and if there's a house in the way, the damage could be catastrophic.