Why do we name big storms?

Every good storm needs a name, and there’s a reason for that. 

It can get complicated tracking storms and alerting the public by latitude and longitude. Naming a potentially dangerous storm makes it a lot easier for everyone to follow along.

Storm naming dates back centuries. In the 19th century, storms were named after the saint’s day on which they hit. After that, Australians started using female names. The National Hurricane Center jumped on that bandwagon in 1953 and then introduced male names in 1979. Winter storms didn’t get in on the names until last year - and we have the Weather Channel to thank for that. 

Alphabetical is still the go-to order of naming storms. If a named storm develops into a monster, like Andrew, Katrina and Sandy, that name is then retired.