Why are hurricanes called by human names? Why hurricanes are called by female names (1 photo)

Watching the news on television or radio, from time to time we come across alarming messages telling us that a natural disaster is raging somewhere on the planet. Reporters often call hurricanes and typhoons by female names. Where did this tradition come from? We will try to figure this out.

Women's names were the first to be used as names for hurricanes in the United States. During the Second World War, military meteorologists, whose department was monitoring the climatic state of the Pacific Ocean, began to use women's names to refer to this or that storm. Oddly enough, these names were borne by their wives or mothers-in-law. The innovation quickly caught on, and to indicate this or that typhoon, women's names began to be used in all weather stations in America. Women's names were easy to remember and facilitated the rapid transfer of accurate data between stations, ships, and bases.

There are several systems that determine the naming regulations for typhoons. Without delving into all the intricacies of military forecasters, we note that the rule remains unshakable, according to which the most global hurricanes that lead to the death of many people “take away” their name forever. Hurricane Katrina, which struck the American coast in 2007, will remain only one in history. No more meteorologist will call a typhoon by this feminine name.

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Why are hurricanes given 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 chosen were 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.

"Katrina", "Harvey", "Nina", "Camilla". These are not the names of random people, but the names of some of the most destructive hurricanes in history.

Hurricane Harvey, which formed on August 17, 2017, has already been named one of the most destructive in US history. Now in the States they are assessing its consequences and comparing it with the deadly Katrina of 2005.

We suggest you figure out where names for natural disasters come from.

Why do they need names?

The world has long had a practice of naming hurricanes, storms and other natural disasters - primarily to avoid confusion, especially when several elements are raging in the same area.

Without it, nameless storms and hurricanes would make life much more difficult for meteorologists, rescuers and others, since names make it easier to communicate and therefore increase safety.

The aftermath of Hurricane Wilma Photos from open sources

Hurricane and storm names help avoid confusion in weather forecasting and in issuing storm warnings.

Background

Initially, naming was haphazard and random. Sometimes the hurricane was named after the saint on whose memorial day the disaster occurred. For example, in July 1825, a hurricane in Puerto Rico was named Santa Anna because it reached the island on St. Anna's Day.

In addition, the name can be given by the area that suffered the most, as well as by the form of development of the hurricane: this is how Hurricane Pin No. 4 in 1935 got its name.

We also know about a somewhat original method of naming hurricanes, invented in 1887 by Australian meteorologist Clement Wragg: he at one time decided to name typhoons after members of parliament who refused to vote for the allocation of loans for meteorological research.

The tradition of naming typhoons and hurricanes after women's names spread during World War II.

Photos from open sources

US Air Force and Navy meteorologists, observing the elements in the northwest Pacific Ocean, began calling them after their wives and girlfriends to avoid confusion. After the war, the US National Weather Service compiled an alphabetical list of female names. His main idea was to use short, simple and easy to remember names.

The first system in the names of hurricanes appeared by 1950, in 1953 it was decided to return to female names. Subsequently, the naming procedure was streamlined. So, the first hurricane of the year began to be called by a woman’s name, starting with the first letter of the alphabet, the second - with the second, etc. There was a list of 84 female names for typhoons.

Photos from open sources

In 1979, the World Meteorological Organization expanded the list to also include male names.

There are 6 alphabetical listings for Atlantic Basin hurricanes, each with 21 names. They are used for six years in a row and then repeated.

If there are more than 21 hurricanes in a year, then they will resort to the help of the Greek alphabet.

An important detail: if a hurricane is particularly destructive, the name assigned to it is crossed off the list. So, Katrina has already been crossed out, and now the same possibility is being considered in relation to Harvey.

In the northwest Pacific Ocean, typhoons are named after animals, flowers, trees, and foods.

Most destructive

Throughout history, the world's population has repeatedly faced powerful and destructive natural disasters. Some of them went down in history due to massive destruction and casualties.

Hurricane Fifi in September 1974 caused enormous destruction. Then the winds reached speeds of 200 km/h, powerful downpours destroyed many settlements, crops, banana plantations, as well as about 80% of industrial enterprises.

In total, more than 10 thousand people died due to the hurricane, and another 600 thousand lost their homes.

Hurricane Mitch, which swept through Central America in 1998, destroyed entire cities and villages.

Hurricane Mitch Photos from open sources

It raged in four countries - Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. As a result, 11 thousand people died, another 10 thousand went missing, and thousands lost their homes. In addition, almost 80% of crops were destroyed.

At the end of August 2005, Hurricane Katrina, the most destructive hurricane in the country's history, hit the United States: about 1.3 thousand people died as a result of the disaster. Damage from the hurricane amounted to $125 billion.

Hurricane Katrina Photos from open sources

In May 2008, tropical cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar. It caused a catastrophic flood, which killed 138 thousand people and affected another 2.4 million people.

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 by various names 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. The active naming of hurricanes by female names began in 1953. The US National Hurricane Center found 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 a hurricane is assigned in 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.

The average European most likely heard about a tornado, hurricane, or tropical storm only on TV in the news feeds. It just so happens that at present these destructive natural disasters strike only certain areas of the globe, whose inhabitants suffer greatly from such “whims” of nature.

Surely, many people still have fresh memories of the consequences of the terrible Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans (USA) at the end of August 2005. As a result of the raging disaster, 80% of the city was flooded, 1,836 local residents were killed, and economic damage was estimated at $125 billion. It was the most destructive hurricane in modern US history, and the sixth most powerful in the Atlantic basin on record.

Probably, few people think about why scientists assign female names to such natural elements? After all, it wasn't always like this.

Indeed, if we turn to modern history, then initially, of course, there was no systematization in the naming of hurricanes. Hurricanes were often named after a saint, depending on the day on which the disaster occurred, or according to the area in which the natural disaster occurred. In some cases, the name was determined by the shape of the hurricane. Another original method was invented by Australian meteorologist Clement Wragg: he named typhoons after members of parliament who refused to vote on the allocation of credits for meteorological research.

During World War II, American experts monitored typhoons in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and to avoid confusion, meteorologists began naming typhoons after their wives or mothers-in-law. After the end of the war, the US National Meteorological Service compiled an official list of women's short, simple and easy to remember names. Thus, in the middle of the last century, the first system in the names of hurricanes appeared. The idea caught on, and the practice was later extended to include Pacific typhoons, storms in the Indian Ocean, the Timor Sea and the northwest coast of Australia. Over time, the procedure for naming hurricanes was streamlined. The first hurricane of the year received a name starting with the first letter of the alphabet, the second - with the second, and so on. A list of 84 female names was compiled for typhoons; in 1979, this list was expanded and supplemented with male names. In the event that an element was very destructive, like Katrina, the name assigned to it is forever deleted from the list and replaced by another.

But the Japanese categorically refused to assign female names to hurricanes, because they consider women to be gentle and quiet creatures. In the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, typhoons are given names of animals, flowers, trees, and even foods, while the tropical cyclones of the northern Indian Ocean remain nameless.