Why are hurricanes named after women? Why hurricanes are called by female names (1 photo)

Hurricanes cause enormous damage to residents every year different countries and continents. The news tells us: “the devastating Hurricane Katrina”, “Hurricane Faina”, etc. So why are hurricanes given female names? Let's take a closer look.

Names are needed for cataclysms in order not to get confused. At the beginning of the 20th century, all hurricanes, typhoons and storms were named by the numerical value of the coordinate where this or that natural disaster manifested itself. There was also a system according to which hurricanes were named after the saint who had a name day on the day the cataclysm began (the famous “Sant’ Anna” and “San Felipe” got their names that way).
Gradually, there were not enough saints, and people got confused about the coordinates. It was necessary to come up with something radically new, understandable to everyone and easy to remember. A whole conference took place with the participation of scientists from all over the world. At the meeting it was proposed various options names for the riots of the elements - these were the names of animals, and the names of plants, and letters Greek alphabet. The military also proposed their own option (this method of naming even lasted for some time) - calling hurricanes by male names. All hurricane names were named in alphabetical order (the English alphabet was used). The method did not last long because there were significantly more hurricanes than letters in the alphabet.

In 1953, after the publication of D.R. Stewart’s book “Storm,” the hurricane was first called the female name “Maria” - which means it was dedicated to the main character of the novel. From that moment until 1979, all hurricanes were called female names. In 1979, they decided to abolish gender discrimination and name natural disasters by both male and female names.

IN this moment The system of “naming” cataclysms has undergone some changes and has become somewhat more advanced. What hurricanes will be called is now decided by the World Meteorological Organization. The issue is taken very seriously - at the organization's Geneva headquarters a meeting of scientists from all over the world is held, and a list of names is approved that will be used in a given year. During one meeting, only 6 lists are approved, each containing 21 names that will be used in naming hurricanes. The list does not contain names that begin with Q, X, Y, Z, since there are very few of them, and naming hurricanes with them is almost meaningless.

It also happens that 21 names are missing - then the letters of the Greek alphabet come to the rescue (in 2005, “Alpha”, “Gamma” and “Beta” thundered deafeningly throughout the world). If any cataclysm has caused memorable destructive consequences, then its name is immortalized and cannot belong to other hurricanes.

The Japanese do not follow this system because of their mentality - women for them are gentle and sweet creatures who cannot bear evil, which is why this nation names hurricanes after phenomena, flowers, plants and animals.

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 alphabetical list 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 chosen were 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.

Why are hurricanes named? According to what principles does this happen? What categories are assigned to such elements? Which are the most destructive hurricanes in history? We will talk about all this in our article.

How are hurricanes formed?

Such natural phenomena originate in tropical zones in the middle of the ocean. Required condition There is an increase in water temperature to 26 o C. The moist air that comes into contact with the sea surface gradually rises. Upon reaching required height it condenses and releases heat. The reaction causes other air masses to rise. The process becomes cyclical.

Streams of hot air begin to rotate counterclockwise, which is due to the movement of the planet around its own axis. An abundance of clouds are forming. As soon as the wind speed begins to exceed 130 km/h, the hurricane takes on a clear outline and begins to move in a certain direction.

Hurricane categories

A special scale for determining the nature of the damage after was developed by researchers Robert Simpson and Herbert Saffir in 1973. Scientists based the selection of criteria on the size of storm waves and wind speed. How many categories of hurricanes? There are 5 threat levels in total:

1. Minimal - small trees and shrubs are subject to destructive influences. Minor damage to coastal piers is observed, small vessels are being torn from their anchors.
2. Moderate - Trees and shrubs receive significant damage. Some of them are uprooted. Prefabricated structures are severely damaged. Marinas and piers are being destroyed.
3. Significant - prefabricated houses suffer damage, large trees fall, roofs, doors and windows are torn off from permanent buildings. Within coastlines Serious flooding is observed.
4. Huge - bushes, trees, billboards, prefabricated structures soar into the air. Houses are being destroyed to the ground. Capital buildings are subject to serious destructive influences. The height of water in areas where areas are flooded reaches three meters above sea level. Floods can travel 10 kilometers inland. There is significant damage from debris and waves.
5. Catastrophic - a hurricane sweeps away all prefabricated structures, trees and bushes. Most buildings receive critical damage. Serious damage is caused to the lower floors. The effects of the disaster are visible more than 45 kilometers inland. There is a need for mass evacuation of the population living in coastal areas.

How are hurricanes named?

The decision to name atmospheric phenomena was adopted during World War II. During this period, American meteorologists actively monitored the behavior of typhoons in the Pacific Ocean. Trying to prevent confusion, researchers gave the manifestations of the elements the names of their own mothers-in-law and wives. At the end of the war, the United States National Weather Service compiled a special list of hurricane names that were short and easy to remember. Thus, the compilation of statistical data for researchers has become significantly easier.

Specific rules for naming hurricanes appeared in the 50s of the last century. At first, the phonetic alphabet was used. However, the method turned out to be inconvenient. Soon, meteorologists decided to return to a proven option, namely, the use of female names. Subsequently, it became a system. How hurricanes are named in the United States has also been learned in other countries around the world. The principle of choosing short, memorable names began to be used to identify typhoons formed in all oceans.

In the 1970s, the process for naming hurricanes was streamlined. Thus, the first major natural phenomenon of the year began to be designated by the shortest, sweetest female name according to the first letter of the alphabet. Subsequently, names were used by other letters according to their sequence in the alphabet. To identify the manifestations of the elements, a wide list was compiled, which included 84 female names. In 1979, meteorologists decided to expand the presented list to include male names of hurricanes.

"San Calixto"

One of the largest hurricanes in history, it was named after the famous Roman martyr bishop. According to documented information, a natural phenomenon swept across the Caribbean islands back in 1780. As a result of the disaster, about 95% of all buildings were damaged. The hurricane raged for 11 days and killed 27,000 people. A crazy storm destroyed the entire British fleet stationed in the Caribbean.

"Katrina"

Perhaps Hurricane Katrina in America became the most discussed in history. A natural disaster with a cute female name caused devastating consequences in the territories of Gulf of Mexico. As a result of the disaster, the infrastructure in and Louisiana was almost completely destroyed. The hurricane killed about 2,000 people. The states of Florida, Alabama, Ohio, Georgia, and Kentucky were also affected. As for its territory, it was subjected to a serious flood.

Subsequently, the disaster led to a social catastrophe. Hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless. Cities that have been affected the greatest destruction, became the epicenter of mass crime. Statistics on theft of property, looting, and robberies have reached incredible numbers. The government managed to return life to normal only a year later.

"Irma"

Hurricane Irma is one of the most recent tropical cyclones with extremely destructive consequences. A natural phenomenon formed in August 2017, near the Cape Verde Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. In September, the hurricane received a category five threat. Settlements located in the south of the Bahamas suffered catastrophic destruction. More than half the population lost their housing.

Then Hurricane Irma reached Cuba. Soon the capital, Havana, was completely flooded. According to meteorologists, waves up to 7 meters high were recorded here. Heavy wind gusts reached speeds of 250 km/h.

On September 10, a natural disaster reached the coast of Florida. Local authorities had to urgently evacuate more than 6 million people. The hurricane soon moved to Miami, where it caused severe destruction. A few days later, Irma's category dropped to its minimum level. On September 12 of this year, the hurricane completely disintegrated.

"Harvey"

Hurricane Harvey in the United States is a natural phenomenon that formed on August 17, 2017. The tropical cyclone caused flooding in the southern and eastern parts. The consequence was the death of more than 80 people. After the catastrophic destruction in Houston, cases of theft and looting increased significantly. City authorities were forced to impose a curfew. Public order began to be controlled by the military.

Elimination of damage after Hurricane Harvey in the United States required the allocation of $8 billion from the budget. However, according to experts, it is not necessary to fully restore the infrastructure in the affected areas. populated areas, more significant financial injections will be required, estimated at approximately 70 billion.

"Camilla"

In August 1969, one of the largest cyclones in history formed, which was named Camilla. The epicenter of the strike was in the United States. A natural phenomenon, which was assigned the fifth category of danger, hit the state of Mississippi. The incredible amount of rainfall led to widespread flooding of areas. Researchers were never able to measure the maximum wind force due to the destruction of all meteorological instruments. Therefore, the real power of Hurricane Camille remains a mystery to this day.

As a result of the disaster, more than 250 people went missing. About 8,900 residents of Mississippi, Virginia, Louisiana and Alabama were injured to varying degrees of severity. Thousands of houses were under water, buried under trees and covered by landslides. Material damage to the state amounted to about $6 billion.

"Mitch"

Hurricane Mitch caused a real disaster in the late 90s. The epicenter of the disaster was in the Atlantic Basin. In Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua, the largest number of buildings and roads were destroyed. Died big number of people. According to official data, the disaster took the lives of 11,000 people. A similar number of people were included in the lists of missing persons. A significant part of African territories has turned into continuous mud swamps. Cities began to suffer massively from a shortage of drinking water. Hurricane Mitch raged for a whole month.

"Andrew"

Andrew also deserves a place on the list of the strongest hurricanes in history. In 1992, he walked throughout the entire territory, affecting the states of Florida and Louisiana. According to official data, the disaster caused $26 billion in damage to the United States. Although experts say that this amount is significantly underestimated, and the real losses are 34 billion.

Events

Undoubtedly, everyone paid attention to what simple and, at times, gentle names researchers all over the world call hurricanes.

It would seem that all the names are random. Take, for example, the one that originated over the Atlantic Ocean Hurricane Earl(can be translated as Hurricane Graph), which raged last year over the Bahamas, the islands of Puerto Rico and along the East Coast of the United States.

Or Tropical Storm Fiona, which, as they say, “walked” shoulder to shoulder next to Hurricane Earl.

However, the system itself by which hurricanes and storms are assigned specific names has a long and rather complex history.

"What's in a name?!"

As reported in US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), hurricanes were once given the names of saints.

Moreover, the saint was not chosen randomly, but depending on the day on which a particular hurricane formed.

For example, this is how it appeared Hurricane Santa Ana, which arose on July 26, 1825, St. Anne's Day.

You may ask what scientists would do if hurricanes were born, for example, on the same day, but on different years? In this case, the “younger” hurricane was assigned serial number besides the name of the saint.

Eg, Hurricane San Felipe struck Puerto Rico on September 13, 1876, St. Philip's Day. Another hurricane that struck the same area also originated on September 13th. But already in 1928. A later hurricane was named Hurricane San Felipe II.

A little later, the system of naming hurricanes changed, and scientists began to use the location of the hurricane to designate it, that is, width and longitude.

However, as NOAA reported, this naming method did not catch on due to the fact that it was not always possible to accurately and unambiguously determine the coordinates of the origin of a particular hurricane.

The confusing and contradictory radio reports received on this topic sometimes required lengthy and careful study and sifting.

So the hurricane may end up “dying” nameless while scientists calculate its coordinates in order to give the natural disaster a name using this method!

Therefore, the United States of America abandoned such a system in 1951 in favor of a seemingly very simple and effective alphabetical naming method proposed by the military.

True, this method used not the usual, but the phonetic alphabet. That's when they were born Hurricanes Able, Baker and Charlie, in the names of which there was one pattern - the first letters of the hurricanes corresponded to the letters English alphabet A, B, C.

However, as it turned out, hurricanes occurred more often than new ideas came to the minds of scientists, and the number of tornadoes in a fairly short period of time clearly exceeded the number of letters and sounds in English language!

To avoid confusion, weather forecasters began using people's names in 1953. Moreover, each name had to be approved by the National Hurricane Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA's National Hurricane Center).

Initially, all hurricanes were given female names. The name of the very first hurricane that was named using this method is Hurricane Maria.

It's destructive a natural phenomenon received such a beautiful female name in honor of the heroine of the novel "Storm", which was written by an American novelist and scholar George Rippey Stewart in 1941.

As told to the magazine "Life's Little Mysteries" National Hurricane Center representative Denis Feltgen, "in 1979, someone came up with the wise idea to use male names to refer to hurricanes and since then they have been used along with female ones"

"You call him like me!"

Nowadays, names of hurricanes are chosen in Geneva, at the headquarters World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

This specialized intergovernmental agency is responsible for overseeing six weather regions in the world, including the United States of America, which forms the fourth region.

It includes North America, South America and the Caribbean Sea region.

Especially for Atlantic tropical storms, The National Hurricane Center has created six lists of names for hurricanes, which was discussed and approved by the WMO by vote at a special meeting of the international committee.

These lists contain French, Spanish, German and english names, because, according to experts from NOAA, “the elements also strike other nations, and hurricanes are monitored, studied and recorded in many countries”.

These six lists of names are in constant rotation and new lists are approved regularly.

For example, in 2010, a list of names was approved that, according to forecasts, will be used only in 2016.

Initially, lists of hurricane names included names from A to Z (for example, among the hurricanes that raged in 1958, you can find the following names: Udele, Virgy, Wilna, Xrae, Yurith and Zorna).

According to Feltgen, the letters Q, U, X and Z are not used in the current lists due to the fact that there are simply not enough names that begin with these letters.

However, sometimes changes are also made to the currently used lists. If the storm or hurricane was particularly destructive force(for example, how Hurricane Katrina 2005), the WMO, by special vote, determines whether this name should be used to refer to hurricanes in the future.

If a particular name is excluded from the list, it is decided to use another name beginning with the same letter of the alphabet. This name is also carefully selected and approved by popular vote.

The names used in these lists can be as unusual as you like, or, on the contrary, well-known and familiar to everyone.

For example, the names planned for the 2010 hurricanes included names such as Gaston, Otto, Shary and Virgine.

Do all storms have names? No, only special hurricanes receive this honor! Namely, those who have the funnel rotates counterclockwise, and the wind speed inside the hurricane is at least 63 kilometers per hour.

Then this “lucky one” is assigned another name from the list of hurricane names approved for this year.

From St. Philip to Harvey, Irma and the Russian cyclone Artemia.

To bookmarks

Photo by Reuters

In September 2017, the United States was hit by powerful hurricanes Harvey and Irma. They received proper names, like dozens of tropical cyclones every year. This system helps to quickly remember and recognize a particular weather hazard: short female and male names instead of coordinates are used by the media and warning services.

According to experts, the names help to better prepare for hurricanes. And weather organizations have developed lists of names and are making sure people don't get confused by Katrina, Sandy and Irma by periodically sending the most famous names"to rest."

Ships, saints and sisters

Previously, storms were named arbitrarily. In 1842, one of the devastating Atlantic hurricanes tore off the mast of the ship Antje, which was located in the western part of the ocean. The cyclone was named after "Antje", which was one of the first official names given to hurricanes. After this, they continued to be named mainly after destroyed ships and cities: for example, the Galveston Hurricane, which hit the American city of Galveston in 1900.

Sometimes tropical cyclones were named after saints. This is how hurricanes St. Anne and St. Philip appeared in Puerto Rico in the 19th century.

However, this method was inconvenient: without a clear system, confusion constantly arose. In the late 19th century, Australian meteorologist Clement Wragg began giving tropical cyclones female names. During World War II, this tradition was picked up by the US military: US Navy meteorologists named hurricanes in the Pacific Ocean after wives, girlfriends and sisters.

Hurricane Sandy area. Photo by Reuters

In 1953, an international naming system for hurricanes and storms emerged, prepared by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) with the support of the US National Hurricane Center. Initially, the list contained only short female names, which were awarded to cyclones in alphabetical order: the first hurricane began with the letter “A” and so on. In 1979, the expanded list included male names to avoid “gender bias.”

From Arlene to Whittney

The first list was created for storms that originate in the Atlantic Ocean. A few years later, a similar system appeared in other regions where tropical cyclones form. Each region has its own names. All of them are published on the WMO website.

The most popular list is Atlantic - hurricanes named after the names from this list hit the United States. Atlantic Ocean has a total of six lists of 21 names that are in rotation. In 2017, one set of names is used, in 2018 - a second. The 2013 list will be repeated again in 2022.

The names also alternate - first in the alphabetical order there is a feminine one, then a masculine one. The letters "Q", "U", "X", "Y" and "Z" are skipped. Storms with sustained wind speeds greater than 62 km/h are given names.

In 2017, hurricanes Arlene, Brett, Cindy, Don, Emily, Franklin, Gert, Harvey, Irma, Jose and Kate". Before the end of the year, "Lee", "Maria", "Nate", "Ophelia", "Philip", "Rina", "Sean", "Tammy", "Vince" and "Whittney" may appear. If the list ends within a year and storms continue to form, they are named by letters of the Greek alphabet.

In 2014, a study appeared in the American scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, according to which female hurricane names lead to more destructive consequences than male ones. However, the work was criticized by other scientists.

​There is no scientific correlation between the strength and size of a storm and its name.

Susan Buchanian

National Weather Service employee

Retirement for Hurricanes

Some cyclones, like Harvey and Irma, are more memorable than others due to their devastating consequences and media coverage. Because of this, using the same names again after a few years can lead to confusion. To this end, the WMO holds a meeting every year to discuss which titles to “retire.”

Consequences of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana. Photo by Reuters

One of the main criteria for changing a name is the pain it will cause to those affected during a cyclone. Since the system was adopted in 1953, 82 titles have been removed from the lists. Among them are the famous hurricanes Katrina, Sandy and Igor. In 2016, the names "Matthew" and "Otto" were retired.

Irma is called the most powerful hurricane to form in the Atlantic in recent years. last decade. Therefore, already in next year this name may be replaced by another. And Irma will become the tenth “I” hurricane in the Atlantic region to retire.

Name system in Russia

In Russia for a long time there was no naming system for cyclones. The Hydrometeorological Center of Russia used typical names for weather phenomena depending on their geography of origin and characteristics: southern cyclones (Black Sea, Caspian), diving cyclones, Far Eastern storm cyclones and others.

In October 2015, the organization proposed compiling its own lists of names of “dangerous weather systems.” The Hydrometeorological Center decided to focus on the European model: strong cyclones and anticyclones are also given names in the UK and Germany. Moreover, if a disaster begins outside Russia and has already received a name, then this name is not replaced.