Maximum sustained wind 50% of the geostrophic wind speed aloft; while over open water or ice, the reduction is between 10% and 30%. In most basins, maximum sustained winds are used to define their category. In the Atlantic and northeast Pacific oceans, the Saffir–Simpson scale is used. This scale can be used to determine possible storm surge and damage impact on land. In most basins, the category of the tropical cyclone (for example, tropical depression, tropical storm, hurricane/typhoon, super typhoon, depression, deep depression, intense tropical cyclone) is determined from the cyclone's maximum sustained wind. Only in Australia is this quantity not used to
1932 Bahamas hurricane the churches were reportedly carried . Newspaper reports and photos helped to establish estimated prevailing winds on Green Turtle Cay that possibly exceeded during the hurricane. After the storm passed Abaco on September 6 and 7, several vessels caught in the storm recorded winds of Force 12 (Beaufort Wind Scale) and low barometric pressures; the steamship "Yankee Arrow" recorded a pressure of on September 7, while the nearby steamship "Deer Lodge" reported a lower pressure of . Although storm warnings were posted for the Florida and eastern United States coastline, the storm's recurvature prevented a landfall, leaving the main effects