Why Australia’s next cyclone had to be renamed to avoid ‘Anthony’

Ever wondered how a cyclone gets its name?

The practice of naming cyclones dates back to the early 20th century, when meteorologist* Clement Wragge began naming storms after politicians he disliked. And as it turns out, politics can still play a part in the naming of cyclones today.

The next tropical cyclone to form in Australian waters will be named Alfred instead of Anthony, after the Bureau* of Meteorology (BOM) chose to change the upcoming name to avoid confusion with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

The decision follows the dissipation* of severe tropical cyclone Zelia, which struck Western Australia last week. “Zelia” brought the bureau to the end of its alphabetical list of cyclone names. Under its longstanding naming system, the next cyclone was due to be called Anthony, but the bureau decided to skip over the name earlier this month.

“When a name matches a prominent person of the time, we reorder to the next name starting with that same letter to avoid any confusion,” a BOM spokesperson told AAP.

The bureau’s predetermined* list of cyclone names runs alphabetically, alternating between male and female names.

The bureau officially adopted a cyclone naming policy in 1963, initially using only female names before switching to alternating male and female names in 1975.

TRAVELLING CYCLONES
Cyclone names are also co-ordinated with neighbouring countries through the World Meteorological Organisation to avoid duplication*.

If a cyclone crosses regional borders, such as from Indonesia or Fiji into Australia, it keeps the name given by the country of origin.

Australia experiences an average of 11 cyclones per season, with names recycled unless a particularly severe storm is retired from the list.

According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), naming cyclones began to quickly identify storms in warning messages. Names were thought to be easier to remember than numbers and technical terms and made it easier for the media to report on tropical cyclones. The personal touch also heightened interest in warnings, which increased community preparedness.

The use of short, distinctive names in storm communications is quicker and less error-prone than the older, clunkier latitude*-longitude* identification methods. These advantages are especially important in exchanging detailed storm information between hundreds of widely scattered stations, coastal bases and ships at sea.

WHO DECIDES THE NAMES?
In the beginning, tropical storms were named arbitrarily*. An Atlantic storm that ripped off the mast of a boat named Antje became known as Antje’s hurricane.

Meteorologists later decided to identify storms using names from an alphabetical list. A storm with a name which begins with A, like Anne, for example, would be the first storm of the season.

Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms in the northern hemisphere have been named from lists originated by the National Hurricane Centre. They are now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organisation.

The original name lists featured only women’s names. In 1979, men’s names were introduced and they now alternate with the women’s names. Six lists are used in rotation. In other words, the 2019 list will be used again in 2025.

The only time that there is a change in the list is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate or insensitive.

When that happens, the name in question is removed from the list at an annual meeting by the WMO Tropical Cyclone Committees and another name is chosen to replace it.

Infamous* storm names such as Mangkhut (Philippines, 2018), Irma and Maria (Caribbean, 2017), Haiyan (Philippines, 2013), Sandy (USA, 2012), Katrina (USA, 2005), Mitch (Honduras, 1998) and Tracy (Darwin, 1974) are some of the names that won’t be back.

The main purpose of naming a tropical cyclone remains unchanged: to raise disaster risk awareness, preparedness and management.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• meteorologist: a scientist who studies the atmosphere and its phenomena, including weather and climate
• bureau: an organisation or a business that collects and/or provides information in a particular subject or industry
• dissipation: process of gradually disappearing
• predetermined: established or decided in advance
• duplication: act or process of repeating, copying, replicating or doubling up
• latitude: also called parallels, these imaginary lines circle Earth parallel to the equator, running in an east-west direction across Earth
• longitude: these lines run between the North Pole and the South Pole and are also called meridians. Like lines of latitude, meridians are measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds – taken together, the two describe the location of any place on Earth
• arbitrarily: doing something based on chance, not planned or based on reason
• infamous: well known for something bad

QUICK QUIZ

1. What will the next cyclone in Australia be called?
2. Which name did the Bureau of Meteorology decide to skip and why?
3. How was hurricane Antje named?
4. How many lists are rotated for naming Atlantic tropical storms in the northern hemisphere?
5. In what circumstances is a name removed from a list?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Is it fair?

Can you think of a better way or system to name cyclones? Write a letter to the Bureau of Meteorology that describes your system and could convince them that it is better than the current system.

Time: allow at least 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science

2. Extension
Do you know the difference between a hurricane and a cyclone? If you don’t, use your research skills to find out. Use your information to design a guide to help younger kids learn about them.

Time: allow at least 45 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Geography, Science

VCOP ACTIVITY
I spy nouns
Nouns are places, names (of people and objects), and time (months or days of the week).

How many nouns can you find in the article?

Can you sort them into places, names and time?

Pick three nouns and add an adjective (describing word) to the nouns.