Hurricanes, powerful in their strength, sweep away literally everything in their path. Their names have long been heard: "Vilma", "Isabelle", "Katrina". It is customary to give female names to these dangerous atmospheric phenomena in America.
Storm winds live from 9 to 12 days, during which time other cyclones can occur in the region in parallel. In order not to get confused, meteorologists began to give hurricanes personal names. For a long time they were given the names of Christian saints, whose day was the closest to the atmospheric phenomenon that occurred, or they were named after the area where the storm broke out. During World War II, meteorology came under close scrutiny by the US Air Force, and they began calling hurricanes after their wives and mistresses. In 1953, this playful trend (to give hurricanes female names) was formalized. In addition, each name was approved by the National Hurricane Center under the Ocean and Atmospheric Administration. The first hurricane named on this principle bore the name "Mary" in honor of the heroine of George Ripley Stewart's novel "The Storm". A list of 84 short female names was then developed to be recommended for hurricane names. Feminist opposition to this innovation led the World Meteorological Organization, in conjunction with the US National Weather Service, to develop a new list of names in 1979, which included male names. The Hurricane Authority has now approved six lists, each of which consists of 21 names. One list per year. After a six-year cycle, the lists are reused. The name of the hurricane, which had a special destructive force, is excluded from the list. This was the case with Hurricane Katrina, which raged in 2005. Since 1953, a total of 70 names have been excluded from the list. The names of the hurricanes are chosen by the World Meteorological Organization, which is headquartered in Geneva. But not all of them bear personal names. Only hurricanes with a wind speed inside them of at least 63 km / h are awarded such "honor".
