The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a scale that is used to sort tropical cyclones in the Western Hemisphere. It is only used for storms that are stronger than "tropical storms", and become actual hurricanes. The categories into which the scale separates hurricanes are noted by the strength of their maximum sustained wind speeds. The classifications are used mainly to predict the possible wind damage a hurricane will create when it makes landfall. It does not measure rainfall or storm surge or how wide the storm is.