“If Not Now, When?”
Many destructive occurrences, what say you? What to do? What’s going on? NFL publicity; folks killing others indiscriminately; Las Vegas, earthquakes, hurricanes, terrorism, vineyard firestorms, wars! WHEEW! Simplify. I asked the question? Who names the hurricanes? From the National Ocean Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, we learn “Storms are given short, distinctive names to avoid confusion and streamline communications.”
Until the early 1950s, tropical storms and hurricanes were tracked by year and the order in which they occurred during that year. Later, short, easily remembered names in written as well as spoken communications is quicker and reduces confusion when two or more tropical storms occur at the same time. In the past, confusion and false rumors resulted when storm advisories broadcast from radio stations were mistaken for warnings concerning an entirely different storm located hundreds of miles away. In 1953, the United States began using female names for storms and, by 1978, both male and female names were used to identify Northern Pacific storms.
This was adopted in 1979 for storms in the Atlantic basin. NOAA’s National Hurricane Center doesn’t control the naming of tropical storms. There is a strict procedure by the World Meteorological Organization. There is a list of male and female names which are used on a six-year rotation. But changed if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate. If more than 21 named tropical cyclones occur in a season, any additional storms will take names from the Greek alphabet.
Someone asks:, “Can I have a tropical cyclone named for me? ” We do not control the naming of tropical storms. An international committee of the United Nations World Meteorological Organization establishes a list of names. Atlantic hurricanes has one list for each of six years. One list is repeated every seventh year.
The only time there is a change is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for obvious reasons of sensitivity. At an annual meeting the committee (to discuss other issues too) the offending name is stricken and replaced. I’m vacationing in the Caribbean / Bahamas / Central America / Miami or elsewhere in the tropics during hurricane season. What’s my chance of getting hit by a hurricane? The Tropical Cyclone FAQ’s (has answers at: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G15.html.
The most devastating cosmic and meteorological changes await occurring; eschatological [future events]. Some ask “Is the world coming to an end? These are birth pangs of “things to come. ”IF NOT NOW, WHEN?” “NOT YET.” False prognosticators deceive, saying they know. Be not deceived! No human knows! Teach the children. Jeanette Grattan Parker, Ph.D. Founder-Superintendent of Today’s Fresh Start Charter School 4514 Crenshaw BL, Los Angeles, CA 90043 [writings are copyright. [email protected]. Will You Marry Me. Inquiring Minds Want To Know. (References:http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/tcp/Storm-naming.html and:http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/faq.shtml#name National Hurricane Center.(NHC)
