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The Art of Naming Hurricanes

Living on the New England coast, we New Englanders are somewhat used to the possibility of a hurricane battering our shorelines. And we remember the names well; Bob, Carol, Donna, Hugo and others.

But why are hurricanes named? The main reason for naming hurricanes is to make it easier for all when tracking them. This is especially helpful when more than one hurrican is occuring at one time. Can you imagine keeping track of hurricanes by their latitude and longitude? This was how meterologists kept track before 1953 when the National Hurricane Center came up with revolving lists of both girls' and boys' names. Originally the Center named them after the Saint's Day on which it occurred. The Center also only named hurricanes after women until 1979 when men were added to the list.

Today, six lists are used in rotation. That means that this year's names will be used again in 2006. The names will stay the same unless a storm is so deadly or costly that it would be inappropriate to use again. Everyone (especially if you are in Florida) remembers 1992's Andrew who flew into South Florida nearly wiping out a little town called Homestead.

Perhaps New Englanders remember Bob the most. In 1991 Bob came to shore with winds up to 130 miles an hour, torrential downpours, floods and extensive property damage like the fallen tree pictured (position).

No matter where you live or visit on the Atlantic coast, the possibility of a hurricane coming to shore remains the same.