Why Hurricanes and Tropical Storms Were Only Named After Women

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Tropical Storm Emily surprised Florida without much warning on Monday, July 31, 2017. By  that Tuesday, Emily had been downgraded from a “tropical storm” to a “depression,” which meant it was time for internet jokes about Emily and her feelings.

Although the World Meteorological Organization now names hurricanes after men and women, storm names weren’t always so equally divided by gender. From roughly 1953 to 1979, U.S. hurricanes and tropical storms were actually only named after women.

For at least 150 years, storm names were “fraught with racism and sexism, personal preferences and vendettas,” reports Atlas Obscura. “[T]heir names have also been borrowed from places and saints, wives and girlfriends, and disliked public figures.”

Although there was plenty of precedent for naming storms after both women and men, the U.S. decided in the early 1950s to settle on a system that only used female names. It’s not entirely clear why, but the maritime tradition of referring to the ocean as a woman may have played a factor.