Where do the names of hurricanes?

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Hélène Laurin

Wednesday, September 6, 2017 12:45

UPDATE
Wednesday, September 6, 2017 12:45

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Each year, hurricane season brings its batch of names leaving a trail of devastation in their path. This year, we hope that we will remember at least Harvey and Irma, and perhaps also to Katia, Lee, and Ophelia, three of the names provided for the tropical storms of the Atlantic in 2017.

It was only from 1953 that the meteorologists began to name storms according to first names.

Before the names?

However, there were tropical storms well before 1953, therefore, how the authorities were they to identify?

The first known way of naming hurricanes was the name according to the saint of the day where it hit. For example, on July 26, 1825, the day of Saint Anne, a hurricane very violent, has reached the shores of Puerto Rico, leaving in its wake 1 300 people (!). It is known under the name “hurricane Sainte-Anne”

One of the problems with this system of appointment was the recurrence; two hurricanes that occur on the same day, but a few (or more) years apart, it could be! For example, even in Puerto Rico, two hurricanes took place on 13 September, one in 1876 and another in 1928. How to distinguish them? The solution of the time: the hurricane of St. Philip I and the hurricane of san felipe II. Well…

Later, the solution was to identify them according to their geographical coordinates (longitude and latitude). You can easily imagine the mess it could make. In 1951, it was decided to name the storms, according to the phonetic alphabet developed by the military, but it also, it was too complicated.

In 1953, therefore, it has started giving names to tropical storms. All communications have been simplified by this simple ploy. Thank you, good evening.

Weather Reporter Hit By Stop Sign GIF from Fail GIFs

Oops!

And since the names?

The lists of names of tropical storms are regulated by the world meteorological Organization. The names follow an alphabetical order. Six lists are rotated, that is to say that each list is up to six years. For example, the list of 2017 will return in 2023.

A few names have been removed each year, the names of the hurricanes that have caused a lot of deaths and damage. It would be disrespectful to rename another tropical storm “Katrina”, for example. New names are chosen and voted for by a committee to fill the holes.

It was in 1979 that male names were added to the list – it was only women’s names before that (!). The names male and female alternating; that way, there’s no baffle!

The letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z have been abandoned, because there are not enough first names that begin with these letters.

When there are more than 21 storms in a season (which is rare), they are named according to the Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, etc).

In our corner of the world, there is much talk of tropical storms forming in the Atlantic, but there are five other areas where tropical storms will create, in the Indian ocean and the Pacific ocean. Each zone has on its lists of first name.

To learn more about the names of hurricanes, you can refer to this page
National Hurricane Center.