Hurricane Ike? Where Are They Getting These Names?

This may be superstitious of me, but I believe a hurricane often lives up to its name. The current threat looming in the Atlantic (and possibly headed right towards me) is Hurricane Ike. Could they have picked a more menacing name? I'm picturing the late bandleader, songwriter, performer, and "abusive" husband of Tina Turner.

And you remember how that turned out. Let's just say Tina got out just in the nick of time. And now Ike is churning along in the Atlantic, building up strength. So I got to wondering: how do they pick hurricane names?

Well here's the answer. Since 1953, there is a pre-approved list of names for every year. In the beginning, these were only female names (that smacks of chauvinism). But since 1979, they alternate between male and female.

Hurricanes are named alphabetically. So the first storm of the season starts with an A, the second a B, and so on. There are no Q's or U's. There are six lists that rotate continuously, and a name is only retired when a storm is particularly devastating.

So that's it. And now it's I's turn. But I ask you: why not a Hurricane Iggy?

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