Women and Hurricane : Similar?

Did you guys noticed that most hurricanes were named after women? Kenapa agaknya? Kenapa fenomena alam ini dikaitkan dengan wanita?

Ada satu joke ni ... a sexist one tapi in a way ia dikatakan menjelaskan dengan baik perkara ini.

Why are hurricanes normally named after women?
- When they come they're wild and wet, but when they go they take your house and car with them.

seperti yang kita tau antara hurricane yang dinamakan sempena nama wanita ialah :

- Hurricane Jeanne yang baru2 ni telah mengorbankan banyak nyawa dan harta benda ni benua amerika;
- Taufan Tsunami di Jepun
- Taufan Frieda

ada banyak lagi tapi tak berapa nak ingat.

betul ke tanggapan ni?

More than a century ago, hurricanes were simply numbered, 1, 2, 3, etc. But forecasters and ship captains confused information about different storms, particularly if they were building simultaneously. The biggest ones could be named for years, such as the "Hurricane of '38" that ravaged New England. In 1950, forecasters tried a phonetic alphabet, "Able," "Baker," "Charlie," "Dog." But that system, too, failed to capture the imagination.

So in 1953 they replaced it with a system used informally during World War II. Sailors then named storms after their girlfriends, wives, mothers-in-law. "Presumably these storms shared personality traits with the namesakes," jokes Frank Lepore, spokesman for the Hurricane Center. This system stuck. Forecasters found that when storms were personified, they had an easier time telling them apart.

This held until 1979 when Florida feminist Roxcy Bolton badgered the Hurricane Center until officials agreed to stop naming hurricanes exclusively after women. (You know the stereotypes: white hot, wild, the female of the species is more deadly than the male.) Bolton suggested using senators' names, but that idea was rejected.

Now there are six lists with 21 names each, alternating male and female; none begin with the letters Q, U, X, Y or Z. They are rotated every six years, so this year's list will be used again in 2010. Names on a list are retired only if a hurricane's damage is so deadly or costly that using the name again would be inappropriate, the Hurricane Center's Web site explains. Mitch was retired. So was Andrew, replaced by this year's Alex.

New names are picked by the member countries at the annual meeting of the WMO. The United States is in the Atlantic region, grouped together with 24 other nations. Among them are France and several Latin American countries, and so the list also includes Spanish and French names.

Names have to be short and distinctive in order to be easily understood in a broadcast. Forecasters pick them from baby books, but if they are trendy that's accidental. This year Alex reflects a fad for androgynous names. But the "B" name is the old-fashioned Bonnie. Matthew replaced Mitch, Gaston replaced Georges.

source : www.washingtonpost.com

[ Last edited by Paja on 26-9-2004 at 11:35 PM ]

How Hurricanes are Named

In 1953, the United States Weather Service first started naming hurricanes after women. Wives, girlfriends, even Bess Truman, the former first lady, were all "honored" with namesake storms. By 1979, men's names were added in response to protest from women's groups. Since then, six lists of names have been drawn up. Each year's storm season starts out at the A-name of a new list. After six years, the lists are used over again. The names for 1999's storms were last used in 1993.

1999:
Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Dennis, Emily, Floyd, Gert, Harvey, Irene, Jos

mok_nik

Originally posted by Paja at 26-9-2004 10:29 AM:
Did you guys noticed that most hurricanes were named after women? Kenapa agaknya? Kenapa fenomena alam ini dikaitkan dengan wanita?

Ada satu joke ni ... a sexist one tapi in a way ia dikatakan m ...

Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms have been named from lists originated by the National Hurricane Center and now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization. The lists featured only women's names until 1979, when men's and women's names were alternated. Six lists are used in rotation. Thus, the 2004 list will be used again in 2010. Here is more information on the history of naming hurricanes.

The only time that there is a change in the list is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for reasons of sensitivity. If that occurs, then at an annual meeting by the WMO committee (called primarily to discuss many other issues) the offending name is stricken from the list and another name is selected to replace it.

Several names have been changed since the lists were last used. Four names from the 1995 list have been retired. On the 2001 list, Lorenzo has replaced Luis, Michelle has replaced Marilyn, Olga has replaced Opal, and Rebekah has replaced Roxanne. Three names from the 1996 list have been retired. On the 2002 list, Cristobal has replaced Cesar, Fay has replaced Fran, and Hanna has replaced Hortense. Two names from the 1998 list have been retired. On the 2004 list, Gaston has replaced Georges and Matthew has replaced Mitch. On the 2006 list, Kirk has replaced Keith

mok_nik

For more information..find out here :dia: Worldwide Tropical Cyclone Names

mok_nik

find out more here about hurricane :dia: NOAA Satellite Images of Hurricane