Why are hurricanes named?

Question

Is so that people with that name are vilified

Answer 1

my names julie..........but im not a hurricane

so i dont know

Answer 2

so they can keep track of which one's which.

Answer 3

It makes it easy when you are talking about them , years later. People will know which one you are talking about.. Also meteorologist  can keep up with them when keeping record.

Answer 4

so meteorolgists can keep track of them

Answer 5

Tropical storms and hurricanes are given names to avoid confusion when more than one storm is being followed at the same time. A storm is named when it reaches tropical storm strength with winds of 39 mph. A storm becomes a hurricane when its wind speed reaches 75 mph.

Forecasters began using names in 1950. In that year and in 1951, names were from the international phonetic alphabet in use at the time - Able, Baker, Charlie, etc. Female, English-language names were used beginning in 1953.

Alternating male and female names were first used to name Atlantic Basin hurricanes in 1979. This was also the first year that French and Spanish names, as well as English, were used. The first three male names used, Bob, David and Frederick have all been retired because they did tremendous damage. Frederick and David were retired because of the damage they did in 1979. Bob was retired after a hurricane by that name hit New England in 1991.  

Answer 6

i guess so they can know wich is which

Answer 7

well one reason is that so its easy for not only us the public but everyone knows which is which and its easier to keep track

and another reason is that the person that found the hurricane or tracked it gets their (ugh i forgot the word) but a reward but i would hate to have my name as a hurricane like i feel bad for the lady that founded katrina

Answer 8

wow me and my mom just explained this to my sis.

naming the hurricanes are the only way to classify them since there are so many.  

Answer 9

Tropical storms and hurricanes are given names to avoid confusion when more than one storm is being followed at the same time. A storm is named when it reaches tropical storm strength with winds of 39 mph. A storm becomes a hurricane when its wind speed reaches 75 mph.

Separate sets of hurricane names are used in the central Pacific, eastern Pacific, and the Atlantic Basin, which includes the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The World Meteorological Organization's Region 4 Hurricane Committee selects the names for Atlantic Basin storms. The names are English, Spanish and French - the languages spoken in the national Atlantic Basin storms hit. They alternate between male and female names. The group has selected six sets of names, which means each set of names is used again each six years.

Forecasters begin using names in 1950. In that year and in 1951, names were from the international phonetic alphabet in use at the time - Able, Baker, Charlie, etc. Female, English-language names were used beginning in 1953.

Alternating male and female names were first used to name Atlantic Basin hurricanes in 1979. This was also the first year that French and Spanish names, as well as English, were used. The first three male names used, Bob, David and Frederick have all been retired because they did tremendous damage. Frederick and David were retired because of the damage they did in 1979. Bob was retired after a hurricane by that name hit New England in 1991.

The first storm each year in the Atlantic Basin and in the eastern Pacific gets an 'A' name. But the year's first hurricane in the central Pacific from 140 degrees west longitude to the International Date Line and the first typhoon west of the Date Line get the next available name on the list, no matter what letter it begins with..

Answer 10

Answer my question then i will answer yours

Why were you named?

If you need some help try to ask your parent this question it might be helpful in the future.

Answer 11

I would imagine its because it's a lot easier to say "Hurricane Gustav" than "that one hurricane that's headed towards Florida" or "Hurricane 86502746".

Answer 12

because they appear to be alive and angry

Answer 13

cuz they are

Answer 14

It is a good point-of-reference. Instead of saying, "I was in that one hurricane back in 2004 that messed up Florida", people wouldn't know exactly which storm your talking about. Instead, you can say, "I survived Charley" and it will be much more likely for people to know which storm your talking about. If it is a devastating storm or a powerful hurricane, the name will be retired (example: Andrew, Katrina, Hugo, Charley, etc.). They do this because it's not to confuse future powerful hurricanes that might share the same name. For example, if we have a hurricane Andrew next year and it also turns out to be a cat 5 and hits land, years from then people might confuse the two commonly. They dont name tropical depressions or tropical waves because they still have a good chance to not develop. Of course if they do, they are branded with a name for that season. Almost all depressions, trop storms and hurricanes are originated from Africa and move west as a tropical wave towards the western hemisphere. So in basic terms, names are used so that we don't get specific storms confused.  

Answer 15

I beleive hurricanes are named as to make refferences to it easier. If the hurricane went unnamed then people would need to include the date it happened and where at... If you ask me, names are much easier to remember.

Answer 16

help identify storms and track them as they move across the ocean. Remember, there can be more than one hurricane at a time and without naming them, we could get confused and which storm their talking about.

Answer 17

I'm not entirely sure, but I think it has something to do with the Greek alphabet or something like that...

Answer 18

Because it's easier than saying Hurricane number 3,451 has just formed off the coast off Africa... makes it easier to record historically as well.  

Answer 19

haha is your name Katrina or Fay?

I think its just so they can keep track of them all..its easier than Hurricane number 1 or hurricane number 2

Answer 20

Hurricanes were originally named after women only, and this enraged the feminists. However, at some point, people could get a hurricane named after themselves, and requests poured in. So that doesn't seem to be the case.

Hurricanes are named to distinguish them. If there are a number of them at the same time, giving them a name will allow people, and meteorologists, to distinguish them more easily. And names of people are simple to remember, the list is pretty much endless, and there is a name for each letter, so the list can be compiled easily.

Answer 21

It's so they can keep track of them  

Answer 22

So they have a record of their damage.

Answer 23

Ha ha ha.

No..makes it easier to talk about them.

Fun to personify.

Answer 24

To keep track of them.  

Answer 25

prolly the same reason they name wars...so people can read about them in history 70 years from now

Answer 26

I always assumed it was to keep better track of them.

Answer 27

So that they no which one is which.

PS: once a hurricane is named they cant use that name for a hurricane again, Hence leaving them with a better list of hurricane and easier to track!

Answer 28

how come they give them weird names like Gustav?

Answer 29

The reason they are named is becuz every hurricane has a file and they need to keep track of them by naming them.....it's simple :)