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(CNN) - Dorian is still a tropical storm that is stirring in the Caribbean. It has maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour (112 kilometers per hour).
Dorian is forecast to increase significantly not only in strength but also in size as it approaches the southeastern United States.
For the storm to become a hurricane, it needs a maximum sustained wind force of at least 74 mph (119 kph). Hurricane categories are defined by their wind speeds:
Category 1: 74-95 mph
Category 2: 96-110 mph
Category 3: 111-129 mph
Category 4: 130-156 mph
Category 5: 157 mph or greater
Here is a look at the wind speed of other major storms:
Katrina made landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana, in 2005 as a category 3 hurricane with winds close to 127 mph (204 kph).
Sandy approached the US in 2012 as a category 2 hurricane, which means it had winds of at least 96 mph (154 kph).
Irma, in 2017, was the first hurricane recorded to maintain winds of up to 185 mph (297 kph) for 37 hours.
Remember: while wind speed dictates the category of a hurricane, other factors can determine its strength. Larger hurricanes cause greater impacts and also make swells worse as they accumulate a larger swell.
Tropical storm
