WEBVTT - How Do Hurricanes Get Their Names?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren Boglebaum here. Hurricanes and typhoons, both of

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<v Speaker 1>which are types of tropical cyclones depending on where they are,

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<v Speaker 1>didn't always have names. They used to often be tagged

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<v Speaker 1>with just a bunch of numbers, maybe a latitude and longitude,

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes just an arbitrary number. Some were named after where

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<v Speaker 1>they came ashore, like the Great Galveston Hurricane of nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>hundred or four saints like the St. Philippe Hurricane of

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen seventy six. Aunt's Hurricane of eighteen forty two was

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<v Speaker 1>dubbed for the ship it d masted. Today, though the

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<v Speaker 1>World Meteorological Organization, or w m O, gives hurricanes short,

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<v Speaker 1>simple names, people's given names. Since the early nineteen fifties,

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<v Speaker 1>the w MO has coordinated with the National Hurricane Center,

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<v Speaker 1>a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to

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<v Speaker 1>put a proper name to every one of these tropical cyclones.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a reason hurricanes aren't named Willy Nilly any longer,

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<v Speaker 1>or Willie or Nilly for that matter. As the w

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<v Speaker 1>m OS website explains, names are presumed to be far

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<v Speaker 1>easier to remember than numbers and technical terms. Many agree

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<v Speaker 1>that appending names to storms makes it easier for the

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<v Speaker 1>media to report on tropical cyclones, heightens interest in warnings,

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<v Speaker 1>and increases community preparedness. Basically, the working theory goes that

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<v Speaker 1>people in the path of the storms will remember and

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<v Speaker 1>pay attention to media reports about Hurricane Elsa more than

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<v Speaker 1>they would Hurricane three. The ways the tropical cyclones are

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<v Speaker 1>named worldwide varies, but here in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf

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<v Speaker 1>of Mexico, and North Atlantic region, the names come in

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<v Speaker 1>alphabetical order off a set of six lists maintained by

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<v Speaker 1>the w m O. The six lists rotate, so the

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<v Speaker 1>names used in Arthur, Bertha, Chris, to All, Dolly, et

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<v Speaker 1>cetera will come around again in But just because the

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<v Speaker 1>lists are alphabetical doesn't mean that there are twenty six

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<v Speaker 1>entries on every list. Rather, there are only twenty one

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<v Speaker 1>names per list in this region. Don't look for names

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<v Speaker 1>beginning with q, U, x, Y, or z. If the

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<v Speaker 1>storms really start piling on and forecasters need more than

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<v Speaker 1>twenty one names in the same season, they turned to

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<v Speaker 1>the Greek alphabet alpha and beta all the way through zeta.

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<v Speaker 1>Before nineteen seventy nine, the storms were only called by

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<v Speaker 1>names typically given to women, but since then men's names

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<v Speaker 1>have been introduced to the mix, and now the to

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<v Speaker 1>alternate on each list, and those six lists stay the

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<v Speaker 1>same unless a storm is particularly devastating, deadly, or damaging,

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<v Speaker 1>then those hurricane names are retired, has happened with Hurricanes Andrew,

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<v Speaker 1>Hugo and Katrina. Nobody wants to see a warning for

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<v Speaker 1>Hurricane Katrina pop up again, and the names Florence and

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<v Speaker 1>Michael were also retired at the end of the twenty

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen season after they struck North Carolina and Puerto Rico.

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<v Speaker 1>Through the end of the tween hurricane season, eighty nine

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<v Speaker 1>Atlantic hurricane or tropical storm names have been retired. It's

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<v Speaker 1>presumable that, considering the damage left behind from a Hurricane

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<v Speaker 1>Dorian in the Bahamas in twenty nineteen, it will join

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<v Speaker 1>the list too, but we'll have to wait to find

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<v Speaker 1>out until the meeting of the w m O Regional

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<v Speaker 1>Association for Hurricane Committee, as the considerations for twenty nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>storm name retirements were not completed this year. Only five

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<v Speaker 1>times in the past twenty five years has a hurricane

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<v Speaker 1>season passed without a storm strong enough that its name

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<v Speaker 1>was retired during that stretch, It's never happened and backed

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<v Speaker 1>back years. The last year that no Storm had its

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<v Speaker 1>name struck from the lists wasteen. Today's episode was written

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<v Speaker 1>by John Donovan and produced by Tyler Clay. For more

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<v Speaker 1>on this and lots of other topics, visit how stuff

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<v Speaker 1>works dot com. Brain Stuff is a production of I

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