Why do storms around the world often have women's names?

Storms in the northwest Pacific and South China Sea are named alternately from the list of countries proposed in the region, while around the world, storms often have women's names, sometimes men's names or even the names of flowers and animals.

Why are so many hurricanes named after women?

Since the early 20th century, people have named tropical storms to facilitate communication between weather forecasters and convenient for the public to monitor the progress of storms.

According to some documents, an Australian weatherman was the first to name the storm and he chose the names of the politicians he hated the most.

During World War II, the U.S. Army and Navy's weather forecasters made it an unwritten rule that the unofficial names of tropical storms in the Pacific were named after women. And the names of the weather forecasters' wives or girlfriends will be chosen to name the storms.

Some people humorously explain that, because these 'two forces' have many similar characteristics, people have used women's names to name the storms. The most typical is probably the path of the storm and the actions of women are unpredictable, the strength of the storm and the anger of women can suddenly become stronger and have tremendous destructive power.

Rules for naming storms

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), each region has different naming rules for tropical storms.

Since 1950, people have begun to name storms in the Atlantic and southern hemispheres (Indian and South Pacific) but not according to specific rules.

By 1953, the names of tropical storms will be named after women and arranged alphabetically.

By 1978, male names were added to the list of hurricane names alternating with female names, and are still arranged alphabetically.

For the Atlantic region alone, the list includes 21 names (not starting with the letters Q, U, X, Y or Z) for WMO to use for hurricanes. There are six lists for WMO to use to name storms that rotate through the years.

In the Pacific Northwest and East Sea (including storms that make landfall in Vietnam), storms are named according to lists proposed by countries in the region.

Vietnam also registers international names for storms in Vietnam, including: Son Tinh, Co May, Ba Vi, Con Son, Son Ca, Tra Mi, Ha Long, Vam Co, Song Da, Sao La.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 24 July 2023