Why do hurricanes have male and female names? Why are hurricanes called by female names? History, interesting facts How hurricanes are named

These days, it's not difficult to name a distant star after yourself, your girlfriend, or your pet hamster. What about a tropical cyclone that can destroy several cities in a day, flood regions and cause billions in losses to a country? Why are destructive hurricanes called more often? female names? Over the past 150 years, scientists have assigned their own names to all major cyclones. Often these names were associated with racism, sexism, personal preference or a desire for revenge. It took a long time before a unified system emerged.

After Ragge's death in 1922, his system ceased to be used. Hurricanes began to be named based on their geographic location or the great destruction they caused. Thus, the 1911 Ship Cyclone and the 1938 New England Hurricane appeared. The lack of clarity in such a system often led to confusion and overlap.

One of the reasons why hurricanes are given female names, according to scientists, is the “unpredictability” of natural phenomena. Motivated by this, US feminists began to speak out against the tradition of women's names in storm names.

A dangerous element brings not only destruction, but also pushes people of art to create
, . Probably many people know the painting “The Ninth Wave” by Aivazovsky, but few people know.

Events

Undoubtedly, everyone paid attention to how simple and, at times, tender names Hurricanes are called by researchers all over the world.

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 East Coast USA.

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 a serial number in addition to 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 denote hurricanes and since then they have been used along with women's"

"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 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 a storm or hurricane was particularly destructive (for example, 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.

Why are hurricanes named? According to what principles does this happen? What categories are assigned to such elements? What 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. Wet air, which is in contact with the sea surface, gradually rises. Upon reaching the desired height, it condenses and releases heat. The reaction makes others rise air masses. 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 reports, a natural phenomenon swept across the islands Caribbean 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 near the 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. The cities that suffered the most 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 Atlantic Ocean. In September, the hurricane received a category five threat. Settlements located in the south suffered catastrophic destruction Bahamas. 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.

10 September 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, full recovery infrastructure in the affected 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. A large number of people died. 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 shortages 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.

Every year hundreds of tornadoes, typhoons, tornadoes and hurricanes sweep across the planet. And on television or radio, we often come across alarming messages telling us that a natural disaster is raging somewhere on the planet. Reporters always call hurricanes and typhoons by female names. Where did this tradition come from? We will try to figure this out.

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. Air force meteorologists naval forces The US kept a typhoon watch in the northwest Pacific Ocean. To avoid confusion, military meteorologists named typhoons after their wives or mothers-in-law. 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 FEMALE 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 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 out from 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.

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 mothers-in-law. 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 FEMALE 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 out from 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.