Blogpost 4: Why Name It?

Have you ever wondered how storms get their names? According to my research, weather officials started naming storms more than a hundred years ago. Originally, the storm was named after saints and political figures. Today, the World Meteorological Organization, who had been assigned to name storms since 1953, now has a fixed lists of names that are arranged alphabetically. (excluding the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z) Each of these lists will then be reused every six years. But if the storm caused great destruction and was very deadly, it will be taken off the list or retired and will be replaced by another name that has the same letter.

But is it really necessary to name a storm? Well, for once, it makes it easier for people to communicate. For example, when typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) battered the country last year, people flocked to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Here, they posted pictures, videos and different messages that showed the world how fierce Yolanda was. Nowadays, when you mention the names or words such as 'Yolanda,' 'Katrina,' 'Pablo,' Sendong,' 'Ondoy,' etc., we easily then understand what it means. 


In an article entitled Reason to Name Hurricanes by the U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA, National Weather Service, they gave an example on why naming storms are important or vital. They said and I quote, "The use of easily remembered names greatly reduces confusion when two or more tropical storms occur at the same time." As compared to the naming pattern people used before, which uses the latitude-longitude system, the ones that they use currently are much easier to understand even by ordinary citizens. This is one way to show how effective government officials communicate to their people.

But not all storms are worthy to be given a name. According to an article entitled Naming A Storm? by Alana Semuels, she said and I quote, "If you start naming other storms, people will suddenly think this might be a hurricane.” Weather officials are very careful when giving out an advisory or a statement that involves having to name storm. Because people tend to panic and immediately think that it would be a deadly storm. This then may cause panic buying or other overly expressed reactions.

Names help us to remember. Names paint a picture in our mind. And there are a lot of factors when naming a storm. We may not fully understand how or where they get the names they used, but it still doesn't change the fact that a tropical depression could potentially be the world's next biggest storm in recorded history.  You never know, maybe your name would be part of the next lists of storms. Watch out!