Weather Whys; Hurricane Names

This is weather-wise. Hurricanes and other tropical storm systems have names that are given to them by meteorologists. That practice began as a matter of convenience, because in earlier days the storms were identified by their latitude and longitude. But since the storms are always on the move, that could be confusing, especially if there were two or three of them in the same ocean. But so, in 1951, American weathermen began naming tropical storm systems according to the Army's phonetic alphabet. For instance, the first three storms in a given season were called Abel, Baker, and Charlie. But at the same time, weather forecasters in the Caribbean were agreeing to their own set of names. To them, Abel, Baker, and Charlie would be known as Alpha, Bravo, and Coco. Obviously, an international standard was needed. So in 1953, forecasters began using a yearly list of women's names to identify those systems.

The idea was not original with them, however. George Stewart's 1941 novel Storm told of a meteorologist who named Hurricanes after women he knew. That practice continued for about 25 years. Then in 1978, feminists convinced the world meteorological organization to spread the blame around a little and include men's names on their list as well. At the same time, the lists took on a more international flavor with names like Philippe and Ishmael being included from other cultures. But there are some names which will never again be found on those lists. They've been retired as if to some special hall of infamy. For instance, people will never again have to hear that a storm named Camille is coming their way. We'd like to know what you think about Weatherwise. Please write to us at KGOURadio, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019. For Weatherwise, I'm Drew Parlo.