L337 HURR1C4N3 N4M3Z

I have always been intrigued with the names given to tropical cyclonic storms in the Atlantic Ocean. My earliest memory of such names is Hurricane Agnes, in 1972. I was four years old, and the tiny creek near our back yard grew to a mighty river.

Check out this NOAA site for interesting facts about how such storms are named. I did not know half the stuff I read there, and on related links.

For instance, did you know...

• There is a six-year plan for the names -- the most of the 2004 names will reappear in 2010
  
• if a storm is significant, its name is retired (you won't see Andrew repeated, and not Katrina either)
  
• if you missed the storms between Katrina and Ophelia, they were named Lee, Maria, and Nate. (Yeah, I hope to hear more from Nate in 2011, or at least 2017, stay tuned to this blog in 6-12 years for more on that)
  
• The name "Hortense" was capriciously retired 2002 (that are sucked!)
  
• Male names weren't used until 1979 (I remember that, people had the attitude that it was offensive to women since the names we remember are ones that cause damage, like Camille.)
  
• Hurricanes names will not begin with Q, U, X, Y, and Z because of the "scarcity of names beginning with those letters."

Okay, what is up with the last one? I think that is particularly insensitive culturally. With Rap artists, I think there is plenty of room for Hurricanes named Usher, Queen Latifah, Xzibit, Yukmouth and Zevlove. Shoot, these rapper names can even broaden the Hurricane naming system with numbers (2Pac, 50cent, André 3000). Did you know that Suzuki Ichiro's name (the Ichiro part) comes from the fact that he is the first born?

--gh (Saburo)