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 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. US Air Force and Navy meteorologists monitored 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.

Hurricane Harvey, which hit Texas, is called one of the most destructive in US history. It is possible that meteorologists will never use his name again, so as not to remind people about tragic events. Voice of America explains how hurricanes get their names.

Why do hurricanes have names?

Nameless storms (and initially names are given to them) and hurricanes would greatly complicate the lives of meteorologists, researchers, ship captains, rescuers, 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, 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 hurricane 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 and others.

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, 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. Texas is currently experiencing the effects of Hurricane Harvey. This is the sixth name on the list, with 12 more remaining, but they will likely remain unused.

Can a hurricane “retire”?

Maybe if he became 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.

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 of the Greek alphabet. The military also offered their own version (this method of naming even lasted for some time) - “calling hurricanes” 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 point on, until 1979, all hurricanes were called by 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 caused memorable devastating consequences, then his 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 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 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.

From time to time, hurricanes of destructive force occur in various areas of our planet. They fall on cities and towns, uproot trees, overturn cars, tear roofs off houses, and bring with them a ton of precipitation that causes floods. The most interesting thing is that people assign female names to hurricanes. It is clear that femininity, tenderness and beauty have nothing to do with it. Most likely, the reason for such names is related to the explosive feminine character, with which men are very familiar.

There are many hypotheses regarding the names assigned to hurricanes. For example, meteorologist from Australia Clement Wragg suggested calling them after the officials who blocked the parliamentary decision on funding meteorological research. However scientific world did not support this idea. There have also been suggestions that a hurricane should be named taking into account the place and time of its occurrence. Wherein Special attention it was proposed to pay attention to its character and level of destructive power. There were a lot of similar proposals. Eventually, hurricanes and typhoons began to be given female names. The greatest originality in this regard was shown by American meteorologists, who began to call these natural phenomena after the names of their mothers-in-law and wives.

The World Meteorological Organization even developed a special algorithm, according to which names were assigned to tropical cyclones and typhoons. The first name began with the first letter of the alphabet, and all subsequent ones went to alphabetical order. A little later, a list was compiled that included 84 female names that were assigned to typhoons. At the same time, there was a separate list for each individual region. For example, six copies were developed for the Atlantic Basin, each of which included 21 female names, and were used for one year. Six years later everything was repeated again. If in some region the number of hurricanes exceeded 21, then the next name had to begin with the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet. The names of the most destructive hurricanes were excluded from this list, and were never used again. These include, for example, Hurricane Katrina, which claimed 1,836 lives.

To be fair, the typhoons that occurred off the coast of Japan were named after animals, trees and flowers. And all because the Japanese consider women to be unusually sweet, gentle and peaceful creatures. And therefore, calling them by their names is so monstrous and destructive a natural phenomenon, would be completely wrong. For the same reason, hurricanes that occur in the northern Indian Ocean do not have names. Strictly speaking, names are assigned only to the most destructive hurricanes, which are characterized by the presence of a huge counterclockwise rotating funnel, and an air flow speed of at least 63 kilometers per hour. The remaining cyclones remain nameless.