1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:08,559 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:17,599 Speaker 1: show that charts the storms of history every day of 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:21,800 Speaker 1: the week. I'm Gabe Lusier, and in this episode, we're 5 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:26,280 Speaker 1: mapping the history of hurricane naming conventions, including the rise 6 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 1: and fall of a sexist policy that drew a direct 7 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:39,960 Speaker 1: line between womanhood and temperamental weather. The day was May twelfth, 8 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy eight. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced 9 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: that it would no longer name hurricanes exclusively after women. 10 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: From then on, the official storm designations would alternate between 11 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: the names of women and men. The change was made 12 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 1: at the direction of Commerce Secondcretary Juanita Kreps, who oversaw 13 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: the National Weather Service and its umbrella agency, the NOAA. 14 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: The US government had been using only women's names for 15 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: storms since the early nineteen fifties, a practice which many 16 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:20,119 Speaker 1: feminists had long denounced as sexist. Some women's rights activists, 17 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: most notably Roxy Bolton, had spoken out against the policy 18 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: since the late nineteen sixties, but it wasn't until a 19 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: woman was placed in charge of the agency for the 20 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: first time that the unfair policy finally came to an end. 21 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: For centuries, weather forecasters have struggled with how to best 22 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:41,959 Speaker 1: keep track of the many storms that pummel their corner 23 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: of the globe each year. The most basic system was 24 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: to log each hurricane or other tropical storm by the 25 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 1: order in which it occurred in a given year and 26 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 1: by its geographic coordinates. However, that quickly proved confusing, as 27 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: it was easy to mix up two or more storms 28 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: that occurred in the same place or at the same time. 29 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 1: The natural solution was to use short, distinctive names when 30 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: reporting information about a specific storm. However, there was still 31 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: no clear consensus on which names should be used. Prior 32 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,960 Speaker 1: to nineteen fifty three, the United States had a rather 33 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:23,800 Speaker 1: messy way of naming tropical cyclones. The year in which 34 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: they occurred was always noted in the name, but sometimes 35 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:30,079 Speaker 1: it would be paired with a geographic location, such as 36 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: the Galveston storm of nineteen hundred, and other times it 37 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:37,959 Speaker 1: was listed alongside a vague description of the storm's intensity, 38 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:42,239 Speaker 1: like the Big Blow of nineteen thirteen. The lack of 39 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: a clear system often led to confusion, as the same 40 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: name would unknowingly be applied to multiple storms. Outside the 41 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:55,360 Speaker 1: continental US, forecasters found more orderly solutions, such as in 42 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: the West Indies, where hurricanes were named for the Catholic Saints' 43 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: Day on which they they made landfall. But it was 44 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: British meteorologist Clement Ragg who began the tradition of using 45 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: first names to describe weather systems in the late nineteenth century. 46 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: Rag set up a vast network of weather stations around Queensland, Australia, 47 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: and began describing the storms he tracked using the names 48 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: of figures from Greek and Roman mythology. Once he tired 49 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: of that, or after he ran through all the good ones, 50 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 1: Rag moved on to the names of local politicians he disliked, 51 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: and then finally to the names of Pacific Island women 52 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:41,000 Speaker 1: whom he found attractive. According to the NOAA. Rag's concept 53 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 1: later inspired American novelist George Stewart, whose nineteen forty one 54 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 1: book Storm included a junior meteorologist who was in the 55 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: habit of naming Pacific storms after former girlfriends. Stuart's novel 56 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 1: was widely read during World War II, especially by US 57 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:03,120 Speaker 1: Army Air Corps and Navy meteorologists, who were themselves responsible 58 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 1: for tracking tropical storm movements over the Pacific Ocean, Many 59 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: of them began naming those weather systems after their wives 60 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 1: and girlfriends back home, presumably as a tribute rather than 61 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:19,839 Speaker 1: an insult the National Weather Bureau. Later the National Weather 62 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:22,839 Speaker 1: Service was placed under the purview of the Department of 63 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:26,359 Speaker 1: Commerce in nineteen forty. Once the war was over, the 64 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 1: Bureau introduced an official storm naming system based on the 65 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: military phonetic alphabet, so Abel Baker, Charlie, Delta, etc. The 66 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,920 Speaker 1: system proved confusing, however, and by nineteen fifty three, the 67 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: entire list of options had been exhausted. That's when it 68 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: was decided that the Bureau should adopt the informal policy 69 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: of military forecasters and start naming hurricanes after women. And 70 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: since the US was at the forefront of weather tracking 71 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: technology at the time, several other countries eventually FOUGH followed 72 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:04,599 Speaker 1: its lead, including both Australia and New Zealand. No one's 73 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: quite sure why these nations governments felt it was okay 74 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: to use only traditionally female names, but it may have 75 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: had something to do with the maritime tradition of referring 76 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 1: to the ocean as a woman. Ships are also typically 77 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: referenced with feminine pronouns, and that too, may have played 78 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: a factor in the decision. Whatever the thinking behind it, 79 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:30,840 Speaker 1: the shift in policy had an unfortunate effect on weather broadcasting. 80 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:35,360 Speaker 1: Many American weathermen began talking about storms as if they 81 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 1: were actual women, and some even used sex as cliches 82 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,159 Speaker 1: to describe the intense and unpredictable nature of a storm, 83 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 1: saying things like she can't make up her mind and 84 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: she's no lady as you would imagine. Many women meteorologists, 85 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: as well as plenty outside the profession, were offended by 86 00:05:55,440 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: being likened to violent, often deadly storms. The most vocal 87 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: of these detractors was the late Roxy Bolton, a Miami 88 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:07,359 Speaker 1: based activist who helped found a series of women shelters 89 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,880 Speaker 1: and rape crisis centers in Florida. As a member of 90 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:14,680 Speaker 1: the National Organization for Women, Bolton added the issue of 91 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:19,280 Speaker 1: hurricane names to the group's nineteen seventy agenda. That year, 92 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 1: she wrote her first of many letters to the National 93 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: Hurricane Center imploring the agency to consider changing its policy. 94 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,839 Speaker 1: She also met with several directors of the National Weather Service, 95 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: famously telling them quote, women are not disasters destroying life 96 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:40,600 Speaker 1: and communities. And leaving a lasting and devastating effect. She 97 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,599 Speaker 1: also mused that if destructive capacity was the criteria for 98 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: naming storms, then perhaps US senators would be more appropriate namesakes. Plus, 99 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: after all, they quote delight in having things named after them. 100 00:06:55,839 --> 00:07:00,280 Speaker 1: Roxy Bolton continued her crusade throughout the nineteen seventies, voting 101 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 1: a tongue in cheek campaign to replace the word hurricane 102 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: with himicane so that people wouldn't be tempted to think 103 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 1: of them as women. But no matter what tactic she tried, 104 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:15,400 Speaker 1: the US government just wouldn't budge. However, the issue would 105 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: find a new champion under the Carter administration. After taking 106 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 1: office in nineteen seventy seven, President Carter appointed Juanita M. 107 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 1: Krepps as his Secretary of Commerce, making her the first 108 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 1: woman to hold that office. Creps was familiar with roxy 109 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:35,040 Speaker 1: Bolton's efforts, and she used her position at the Commerce 110 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: Department to help bring them to fruition. The Australian Bureau 111 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,880 Speaker 1: of Meteorology had already switched to using a mix of 112 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: male and female names for tropical storms, and Creps directed 113 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: the NOAA to do the same. By that point, the 114 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:54,560 Speaker 1: National Hurricane Center had handed over its naming duties to 115 00:07:54,640 --> 00:08:00,760 Speaker 1: the World Meteorological Organization, or the WMO. The agency said 116 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: it was too late to change the global tropical storm 117 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: naming policy for nineteen seventy eight, but that it would 118 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: do so the following year. However, Secretary Creps really didn't 119 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:14,120 Speaker 1: want to wait and risk having the issue fall by 120 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 1: the wayside, so in the meantime, she had the National 121 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: Weather Service work out a deal with Mexico to change 122 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,720 Speaker 1: the naming system for the Eastern Pacific region of the US, 123 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:28,560 Speaker 1: effective immediately. That deal was announced on May twelfth, nineteen 124 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: seventy eight, and later that year an Eastern Pacific hurricane 125 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: became the first to bear a man's name, Bud. In 126 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy nine, the various weather agencies finally got on 127 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:43,720 Speaker 1: the same page and the new system officially took effect. 128 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:47,760 Speaker 1: Officials started pulling from a list that included an even 129 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 1: split of masculine and feminine names, and in July of 130 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 1: that year, a Gulf Coast hurricane named Bob became the 131 00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 1: first Atlantic storm to be officially designated with a traditionally 132 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 1: made name. Today, hurricanes continue to be named after both 133 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:09,360 Speaker 1: men and women. The names are chosen several years in advance, 134 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:13,319 Speaker 1: and the lists are swapped out every six years. Hurricane 135 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 1: names are rarely retired for good, but it does happen 136 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:20,480 Speaker 1: on occasion, usually when a storm is especially deadly and 137 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:22,960 Speaker 1: it would seem in poor taste to use the name again, 138 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:27,880 Speaker 1: such as with Hurricane Katrina, for example. It's obviously still 139 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:30,640 Speaker 1: a bummer to share a name with a catastrophic storm, 140 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:33,559 Speaker 1: but thanks to the work of women like Creps and Bolton, 141 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:39,920 Speaker 1: at least now it's an equal opportunity bummer. I'm Gabelusier 142 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:43,400 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 143 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:47,160 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. You can learn even more 144 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:51,080 Speaker 1: about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram 145 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:55,280 Speaker 1: at TDI HC Show, and if you have any comments 146 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:58,079 Speaker 1: or suggestions, you can always send them my way by 147 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 1: writing to this Day at iHeart media dot com. Thanks 148 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:05,319 Speaker 1: to Chandler Mays and Ben Hackett for producing the show, 149 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,000 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 150 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 1: again soon for another day in History class.