My granddaughter Gabrielle is pissed about naming hurricanes after PEOPLE!

[Radio_Lady]

She thinks it's disgusting, and she's only nine years old. She wants to write a letter to someone about her feelings. Some people named Andrew and Katrina feel the same way.

Do you think this system should be changed? If so, who do we write to?

Thanks for your input.

[Book Lover]

1. Good for her!

I suggest she start her search at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

At the http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml page she can learn about the naming system, which is in fact maintained by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization ( http://www.wmo.ch/pages/index_en.html )

I think Gabrielle is lucky to have such a charming name!

[trof]

2. I think she's on to something.

How about Alpha 1?
Alpha 2?
etc.

[skygazer]

3. How does she know they aren't naming people after hurricanes?

Well, seriously, I think its cute that she's 9 years old and enraged about something - good for her.

As for the issue, it's really not something I ever thought about - I mean, a name's a name and a lot of people (and animals for that matter) are going to share it. If I were named Ted, I don't think I'd go off the deep end because of Ted Bundy, for example.

[wildhorses]

4. may i suggest the greek alphabet?

http://www.physlink.com/reference/GreekAlphabet.cfm

[ironflange]

5. Everyone I've known has been flattered to share a name with a storm

Son's girlfriend, Emily, thought it was pretty cool when "her" storm was getting stronger and stronger.

I think people should lighten up and not take things like this so personally. My name is Jack, but I don't have a problem with the guy having called himself Jack the Ripper. It's just a coincidence.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

6. I am more pissed that my name has'nt been used.

Or am I just petty ?

[LynneSin]

7. My name was used once - but without the "E"

:cry:

[deucemagnet]

8. I think we should give them scary names.

Attila, Barbara Bush, Carrot Top, Dubya. Names that make you *want* to evacuate.

[pitohui]

9. no it shouldn't be changed and no you shouldn't write to anyone

the hurt feelings of a 9 year old child are less important than the loss of life in a hurricane hunter aircraft when there is confusion because the storm has some unwieldly number instead of a name

the navy determined years ago that giving names instead of numbers to storms, actions, etc. prevents confusion and saves life and limb

this child should be old enough to understand that many people and things have the same name, do you think that every man named ted should be sad and upset because of ted bundy? every man named charles should jump off a cliff because of charles manson? and good god, think of the poor men named george and richard (nicknamed "dick!")

i would say that we have to share in this world, and sharing our names is just a very small part of that

[sasquatch]

10. HAHAHAHA!!

You should use this to your advantage and tease her about it.
:rofl:

[Blue-Jay]

11. A tropical cyclone (or "hurricane) is a meteorological term for a storm system

characterized by a low pressure center and thunderstorms that produces strong wind and flooding rain. A tropical cyclone feeds on the heat released when moist air rises and the water vapor it contains condenses. They are fueled by a different heat mechanism than other cyclonic windstorms such as nor'easters, European windstorms, and polar lows, leading to their classification as "warm core" storm systems.

The adjective "tropical" refers to both the geographic origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively in tropical regions of the globe, and their formation in Maritime Tropical air masses. The noun "cyclone" refers to such storms' cyclonic nature, with counterclockwise rotation in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise rotation in the Southern Hemisphere. Depending on their location and strength, tropical cyclones are referred to by various other names, such as hurricane, typhoon, tropical storm, cyclonic storm, and tropical depression.

While tropical cyclones can produce extremely powerful winds and torrential rain, they are also able to produce high waves and damaging storm surge. They develop over large bodies of warm water, and lose their strength if they move over land. This is the reason coastal regions can receive significant damage from a tropical cyclone, while inland regions are relatively safe from receiving strong winds. Heavy rains, however, can produce significant flooding inland, and storm surges can produce extensive coastal flooding up to 25 mi (40 km) from the coastline. Although their effects on human populations can be devastating, tropical cyclones can also relieve drought conditions. They also carry heat and energy away from the tropics and transport it towards temperate latitudes, which makes them an important part of the global atmospheric circulation mechanism. As a result, tropical cyclones help to maintain equilibrium in the Earth's troposphere, and to maintain a relatively stable and warm temperature worldwide.

[greatauntoftriplets]

13. When I was a kid and my bedroom was messy.....

my mother would always say it looked like it had been hit by a cyclone. Why did she not say hurricane? Or a tornado??? For chrissakes, we lived in the Midwest. She should at least have said a tornado or a cyclonic wind or a microburst. We never actually had cyclones so I had no clue what one looked like.

But I still had to clean up the damn bedroom.

:evilfrown:

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

14. And they name them after people so it makes emergency work easier

Storms reaching tropical storm strength were initially given names to eliminate confusion when there are multiple systems in any individual basin at the same time which assists in warning people of the coming storm. In most cases, a tropical cyclone retains its name throughout its life; however, under special circumstances, tropical cyclones may be renamed while active. These names are taken from lists which vary from region to region and are drafted a few years ahead of time. The lists are decided upon, depending on the regions, either by committees of the World Meteorological Organization (called primarily to discuss many other issues), or by national weather offices involved in the forecasting of the storms. Each year, the names of particularly destructive storms (if there are any) are "retired" and new names are chosen to take their place.

[Blue-Jay]

15. That's very interesting!

I thought they just named them after my former sexual partners.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

16. Hurricane Steve?

[Blue-Jay]

17. I wish I could quit Steve.

That would be too much to bear. :cry:

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

19. Hurricane

Chubbychaser?

[jobycom]

12. I wonder how Katrina and the Waves feel about it?

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

18. Gloria Estefan?

[JVS]

20. Miami Sound Machine 4evar!

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

21. Lisa a Lisa and Cult Jam

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

24. I remember Gloria

Took out the huge weeping willow in front of my grandmother's house while I watched.

[DarkTirade]

22. There were plenty of jokes at my friend Charlie's expense

a couple years ago... especially since the damn hurricane seemed to be following him. He'd been visiting his parents in Tampa... it headed towards Tampa. He went back to Orlando to get away from it... it followed him to Orlando.

[BreweryYardRat]

23. I was in Sarasota when that one passed through in '01 or '02.

The canal rose, and my backyard flooded half-way up the slope. Other than that, not much happened.

[Skittles]

25. hey at least they name them after men too

I remember when they did not

[Radio_Lady]

28. I remember that, too. Thanks for your comments.

[Mythsaje]

26. I know...let's sell naming rights to the corporations...

We can use the money for reconstruction.

[Phillycat]

29. Hurricane Viagra!

[Radio_Lady]

27. UPDATE: Hurricane Gabrielle received minor news coverage here in the Pacific NW.

We moved on to other, more exciting topics.

Like who the cute boys are at her school.