Why Are Hurricanes Given Names? — Passage
Hurricanes are powerful storms that can cause serious damage to land, homes, and communities. To help people prepare and stay safe, each hurricane is given a name. But why name a storm at all?
In the past, hurricanes were described by their location or by the date they struck. This could get confusing, especially if more than one storm happened in the same place or at the same time. Giving each hurricane a name helps clearly identify it, so weather reports, emergency alerts, and news updates are easier to understand.
The idea of naming storms began in the 1950s, when the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) created a list of names to use each hurricane season. Today, there are different lists of names for different regions around the world. For example, Atlantic hurricanes use one list, while storms in the Pacific or Indian Ocean have their own.
The names are chosen in alphabetical order and rotate every six years. The list includes both male and female names and avoids names that are too hard to pronounce or spell. If a hurricane is especially destructive or deadly, its name is retired and replaced with a new one. For example, names like Katrina and Sandy were retired after those major storms.
Naming hurricanes helps emergency workers, scientists, and the public track and talk about each storm quickly and clearly. It may seem simple, but it’s an important part of staying safe during dangerous weather.
Fun Fact: Before official names were used, some hurricanes were named after saints' days, or even after people politicians disliked!
Why are hurricanes given names?
To make them sound scarierTo honor famous scientistsTo clearly identify and track each stormTo keep storm information secretWhat made storm naming helpful compared to older methods?
It made storms disappear fasterIt helped avoid confusion from using dates or locationsIt made people like hurricanes moreIt made weather maps look betterWho manages the lists of hurricane names?
Local weather stationsThe United NationsThe World Meteorological Organization (WMO)NASAHow are the names organized?
By storm sizeIn reverse ABC orderBy the season’s weatherAlphabeticallyWhen is a hurricane name retired?
When people dislike the nameAfter it is used twiceIf the storm was very destructive or deadlyWhen it causes no damageHow often are the name lists reused?
Every yearEvery ten yearsEvery six yearsNeverWhat is the main idea of the passage?
Hurricane names are randomly chosen each yearNaming hurricanes helps people understand and respond to weather more easilyOnly storms in the U.S. get namesHurricane names are always the same each yearWhat did people sometimes name hurricanes after in the past?
Days of the weekFamous battlesSaints or disliked politiciansColors of the skyRelated Content
