Why are storms given female names? Why are hurricanes called by female names? History, interesting facts. Why do they need names?

Hurricanes are usually given names. This is done so as not to confuse them, especially when several tropical cyclones are active in the same area of ​​the world, so that there are no misunderstandings in weather forecasting, in the issuance of storm alerts and warnings.

Before the first system for naming hurricanes, hurricanes received their names haphazardly and randomly. Sometimes a hurricane was named after the saint on whose day the disaster occurred. For example, Hurricane Santa Anna got its name, which reached the city of Puerto Rico on July 26, 1825, St. Anna. The name could be given to the area that suffered the most from the disaster. Sometimes the name was determined by the very form of development of the hurricane. Thus, for example, hurricane “Pin” No. 4 got its name in 1935, the shape of its trajectory resembled the mentioned object.

The original method of naming hurricanes, invented by Australian meteorologist Clement Wragg, is known: he named typhoons after members of parliament who refused to vote on the allocation of loans for meteorological research.

The names of cyclones became widespread during the Second World War. U.S. Air Force and Navy meteorologists monitored typhoons in the northwest Pacific Ocean. To avoid confusion, military meteorologists named typhoons after their wives or girlfriends. After the war, the US National Weather Service compiled an alphabetical list of female names. The main idea behind this list was to use names that are short, simple and easy to remember.

By 1950, the first system in hurricane names appeared. First they chose the phonetic army alphabet, and in 1953 they decided to return to women's names. Subsequently, the assignment of female names to hurricanes became part of the system and was extended to other tropical cyclones - Pacific typhoons, storms Indian Ocean, Timor Sea and northwestern coast of Australia. The naming procedure itself had to be streamlined. Thus, the first hurricane of the year began to be called a female name, starting with the first letter of the alphabet, the second - with the second, etc. The names were chosen to be short, easy to pronounce and easy to remember. There was a list of 84 female names for typhoons. In 1979, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), together with the US National Weather Service, expanded this list to also include male names.

Since there are several basins where hurricanes form, there are also several lists of names. For Atlantic Basin hurricanes there are 6 alphabetical lists, each with 21 names, which are used for 6 consecutive years and then repeated. If there are more than 21 Atlantic hurricanes in a year, the Greek alphabet will come into play.

If a typhoon is particularly destructive, the name assigned to it is removed from the list and replaced by another. So the name Katrina is forever crossed off the list of meteorologists.

Naming hurricanes has been a common practice for a long time. This is done to avoid confusion, especially when several natural disasters are raging in the same area. Different male and female names help distinguish tropical cyclones in weather forecasting, storm alerts and warnings.

Background

Atmospheric anomalies began to be called different names back at the beginning of the twentieth century. Australian meteorologist Clement Rugg assigned natural disasters the names of parliamentarians who refused to vote for loans for meteorological research.

Meteorologists often used geographic coordinates to identify natural disasters. P The natural element could also be called by the name of the saint on whose day the disaster occurred. Also, until 1950, hurricanes were assigned serial four-digit names, the first two digits indicating the year, the second two the serial number of the hurricane that year. The Japanese still use their hurricane naming system. They name Pacific Northwest hurricanes after animals, flowers, trees and foods.

System of female and male names

The modern system of naming hurricanes is associated with the habit of American military pilots. During World War II, they began naming hurricanes and typhoons after their wives and girlfriends. Meteorologists liked this idea because of its simplicity and ease of memorization. Actively naming hurricanes female names started in 1953. National Center Hurricanes USA considered this practice convenient and easy to understand in news releases. Two years later, an international system of hurricane names was approved - English, Spanish and French names were included in the lists. Until 1979, they were only female, and then they began to assign male names to hurricanes.

Hurricane Katrina August 28, 2005. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Currently, a list of names for hurricanes and storms is created by the World Meteorological Organization. It is customary to name a tropical storm if the wind speed is more than 62.4 km/h. The storm becomes a hurricane when wind speeds reach 118.4 km/h. Each region where they are formed has its own list of names. There are six such lists in total, with 21 names in each. ABOUTThe first list is valid for one year, and after six years the first list can be used again. However, if a hurricane was catastrophic, its name is permanently removed from the list. The name of such a hurricane remains forever in history and is never used again (for example, 2005 Hurricane Katrina, 2004 Hurricanes Charlie, Frances, Jenny, etc.).

Hurricane Sandy October 29, 2012. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

The name of the hurricane is assigned to alphabetical order(Latin alphabet). The first hurricane of the year is given a name starting with the first letter of the alphabet, etc. However, if there are more than 21 hurricanes in a year, then the Greek alphabet is used, as was the case in 2005.

Why do they give hurricanes human names? Here Kirill, Kiryusha, damn it, recently trampled around Europe, Katrina last year in America... Why

Hurricanes are usually given names. This is done to avoid confusion, especially when several tropical cyclones are active in the same area of ​​the world. The names are selected by the World Meteorological Organization according to a certain rule. And the rule is this: the name of the first hurricane of the year begins with the first letter of the English alphabet ─ A, the second gets a name starting with the letter B, and so on. It is also necessary to alternate between female and male names. For example, in 1998, the Atlantic hurricanes were named Alex, Bonnie, Charlie, Daniela, and so on.
The custom of calling typhoons and hurricanes by female names arose relatively recently. Previously, they received their names haphazardly and accidentally. Sometimes a hurricane was named after the saint on whose day the disaster occurred, or it was named after the area that suffered the most from it. Sometimes the name was determined by the very form of development of the hurricane. Thus, for example, hurricane “Pin” No. 4 got its name in 1935, the shape of its trajectory resembled the mentioned object. There is an original method for naming hurricanes, invented by an Australian meteorologist. He used his office to take professional revenge on individual members of parliament who refused to vote on weather research credits, and named typhoons after them.
At first, only women's names were used for names; later, when they became scarce, men's names were used. The tradition arose in the early 1940s of the twentieth century. At first, it was an informal terminology among U.S. Air Force and Navy meteorologists, used to facilitate the exchange of information about hurricanes found on weather maps - short female names helped to avoid confusion and shortened the text of radio and telegraphic broadcasts. Subsequently, the assignment of female names to hurricanes became part of the system and was extended to other tropical cyclones - Pacific typhoons, storms of the Indian Ocean, Timor Sea and the north-west coast of Australia. The naming procedure itself had to be streamlined. Thus, the first hurricane of the year began to be called a female name, starting with the first letter of the alphabet, the second - with the second, etc. The names were chosen to be short, easy to pronounce and easy to remember. There was a list of 84 female names for typhoons. Since 1979, tropical cyclones began to be assigned male exchanges.

Photo: NOAA NWS National Hurricane Center

Hurricane Irma, which struck the Caribbean islands and Florida, is called the strongest in the Atlantic on record, moreover, it brought terrible destruction and led to dozens of deaths. It is possible that his name will never again be used by meteorologists to name hurricanes in the future, so as not to remind people of the tragic events.

The Voice of America spoke about how and why hurricanes get their names.

Why do hurricanes need names?

Initially, the name is given to a storm that later weakens or develops into a hurricane. Nameless storms and hurricanes would make life much more difficult for meteorologists, researchers, ship captains, rescue workers, and... ordinary people. Names facilitate communication, which means they increase the level of security. That is why the World Meteorological Organization has created a special list of names for the elements, which is updated every year.

What were hurricanes called before the naming system came into being?

Hurricanes were often named after saints. For example, the hurricane that reached Puerto Rico on July 26, 1825, St. Anne's Day, was called St. Anne. Sometimes the name was chosen to be the name of the area that suffered the most. And sometimes the name was dictated by the shape of the hurricane. This is how Hurricane Pin got its name in 1935.

How many names are on the list

Every year, 21 names are included in the list - the number of all letters in the alphabet, except Q, U, X, Y and Z - they are not used. The names are used in order: the first storm of the season is called by a name that begins with A, the second with B, and so on.

What to do if all the letters in the alphabet are gone?

This happens extremely rarely: usually the number of tropical storms and hurricanes does not exceed 21. If this does happen, the Greek alphabet comes to the rescue. Hurricanes are named Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, etc.

When are hurricanes called by female names, and when by male names?

At first, hurricanes were exclusively “women.” Military meteorologists began assigning female names to natural disasters during World War II. In 1953, this method was officially approved. But since 1978, after a lawsuit, the situation has changed: hurricanes began to be given male names.

How many names have meteorologists already “used up” this year?

For the Atlantic Coast, the list of hurricane names for 2017 is: Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Emily, Franklin, Harvey, Irma, Jose, Katya, Lee, Maria, Ophelia, Philip, Rina, Sin, Tammy, Vince and Whitney. Florida and Georgia are currently experiencing the effects of Hurricane Irma. Storms Jose and Katya have already formed in the Atlantic and received their names. That is, 9 more names from the 2017 list remained unused.

Can a hurricane's name "retire"?

Maybe if the elements were too destructive. In this case, using the same name again may be too painful for those affected. For example, there will no longer be a hurricane named Katrina. It was removed from the list of names and will never be used again. There is a possibility that the same fate awaits the names Harvey and Irma.

Hurricanes are usually given names. This is done so as not to confuse them, especially when several tropical cyclones are active in the same area of ​​the world, so that there are no misunderstandings in weather forecasting, in the issuance of storm alerts and warnings.

Before the first system for naming hurricanes, hurricanes received their names haphazardly and randomly. Sometimes a hurricane was named after the saint on whose day the disaster occurred. For example, Hurricane Santa Anna got its name, which reached the city of Puerto Rico on July 26, 1825, St. Anna. The name could be given to the area that suffered the most from the disaster. Sometimes the name was determined by the very form of development of the hurricane. Thus, for example, hurricane “Pin” No. 4 got its name in 1935, the shape of its trajectory resembled the mentioned object.

The original method of naming hurricanes, invented by Australian meteorologist Clement Wragg, is known: he named typhoons after members of parliament who refused to vote on the allocation of loans for meteorological research.

The names of cyclones became widespread during the Second World War. U.S. Air Force and Navy meteorologists were monitoring typhoons in the northwest Pacific Ocean. To avoid confusion, military meteorologists named typhoons after their wives or girlfriends. After the war, the US National Weather Service compiled an alphabetical list of female names. The main idea behind this list was to use names that are short, simple and easy to remember.

By 1950, the first system in hurricane names appeared. First they chose the phonetic army alphabet, and in 1953 they decided to return to women's names. Subsequently, the assignment of female names to hurricanes became part of the system and was extended to other tropical cyclones - Pacific typhoons, storms of the Indian Ocean, Timor Sea and the north-west coast of Australia. The naming procedure itself had to be streamlined. Thus, the first hurricane of the year began to be called a female name, starting with the first letter of the alphabet, the second - with the second, etc. The names were chosen to be short, easy to pronounce and easy to remember. There was a list of 84 female names for typhoons. In 1979, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), together with the US National Weather Service, expanded this list to also include male names.

Since there are several basins where hurricanes form, there are also several lists of names. For Atlantic Basin hurricanes there are 6 alphabetical lists, each with 21 names, which are used for 6 consecutive years and then repeated. If there are more than 21 Atlantic hurricanes in a year, the Greek alphabet will come into play.

If a typhoon is particularly destructive, the name assigned to it is removed from the list and replaced by another. So the name Katrina is forever crossed off the list of meteorologists.

In the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, names of animals, flowers, trees and even foods are reserved for typhoons: Nakri, Yufung, Kanmuri, Kopu. The Japanese refused to give female names to deadly typhoons because they consider women to be gentle and quiet creatures. And the tropical cyclones of the northern Indian Ocean remain nameless.