“but i know ladies by the score

whose hair, like seaweed, scents the storm;

long, long before it starts to pour

their locks assume a baneful form.”

—hebert

at the end of august, 1954, when the hurricane named “carol” devastated long island and the southern coast of new england, it did a tremendous amount of property damage, principally on the shores of rhode island and southeastern massachusetts. there was sharp criticism of the weathermen and the hurricane hunters. people claimed that the warning came only a few hours ahead of the big winds and the high storm tides. the weathermen answered that there really was no delay on their part in giving out the warning. they said that the hurricane hunters had been tracking carol for several days and everybody had been warned that it was on the way. the hurricane simply started to move with great rapidity during that final night and there was no way 238 of getting the warning to large numbers of people that early in the morning. it was after daylight when they got out of bed and turned on radio and television.

of all the criticism, the sharpest and most prolonged was about the name of the hurricane. a newspaper in massachusetts—the new bedford times—ran an editorial saying that it was not appropriate to give a nice name like carol to a death-dealing and destructive monster of this kind. other newspapers and many citizens here and there around the country joined in, partly in complaint and partly out of curiosity and the wish to get into the argument. a new orleans woman wrote to the editor of the new bedford times that she would rather a storm would hit her house nameless than to run a chance of having it named after one of her husband’s old girl friends. other women were incensed because storms had been called by their given names. the weathermen had a good explanation, but not many people seemed to sympathize with them. persons who suffered losses of property were the most critical, saying that the name carol gave the impression that the storm was not dangerous and that its winds and tides would not be much out of the ordinary.

the hurricane hunters were amazed by this reaction. use of names for storms was not new. for a great many years the worst of the world’s storms have been given names, some before they struck with full force, but mostly afterward. many were named after cities, towns or islands that were devastated. others had gotten their names from some unusual weather that came with them or from ships that were sunk or damaged. one of them, as already has been related, was named “kappler’s hurricane” after a weather officer named kappler who discovered it.

during the latter part of the nineteenth century, a new englander, sidney perley, collected all the available records 239 of storms and other disasters, together with strange phenomena in new england, starting with a big hurricane in 1635, when there were only a few settlers, and continuing down to 1890. his book, historic storms of new england, was published in salem, in 1891. he listed floods, earthquakes, dark and yellow days, big meteors, eclipses, avalanches, droughts, great gales, tornadoes, hurricanes, and storms of hail and heavy snow. prominent among them were the “long storm” of 1798, the “september gale” of 1815, and the “lighthouse storm” of 1851.

the “long storm,” as the name suggests, was of long duration. it began on the seventeenth of november and continued with terrific gales and heavy snow until late on the twenty-first. this violent weather was unprecedented so early in the winter. from perley’s account it seems that the center of the storm crossed cape cod. a great many vessels were lost and there was much suffering among the people.

the “september gale” of 1815 became famous because of a poem written in later years by oliver wendell holmes, who was six years old at the time of the big gale. holmes remembered and lamented the loss of his favorite pair of breeches, in part as follows:

“it chanced to be our washing day,

and all our things were drying;

the storm came roaring through the lines,

and set them all a flying;

i saw the sheets and petticoats

go riding off like witches;

i lost, ah! bitterly i wept,—

i lost my sunday breeches.”

holmes entitled the poem the september gale and so this became the name of the storm. actually, it was a hurricane 240 quite like those that struck new england in 1938, 1944 and 1954. years afterward, a new haven man named noyes darling became interested in the storm of 1815 and traced its course by a collection of newspaper accounts from many places and by the logs of ships which had been in the western atlantic when the hurricane passed. in 1842, he plotted all this information on a map and was able to figure its course. this was rather remarkable, for a study since that time shows that the tracks of hurricanes which do great damage in new england must adhere closely to one path—far enough eastward to clear the land areas as they go northward and far enough westward so that they do not go out into the ocean before they reach the latitude of nantucket. those which strike shore to the southward may reach new england but passage over land causes them to lose much of their fury on the way. darling’s plotted path was correct according to experiences since that time.

the “lighthouse storm” of 1851 commenced in the district of columbia on sunday, april 13, reached new york on monday morning, and during the day struck new england. it came at the time of the full moon and so the storm-driven waters joined with the high tides, and the sea, rising over the wharves at dorchester, massachusetts, came into the streets to a greater height than had ever been known before. all around the coasts of massachusetts and new hampshire there was much property damage. the event which gave the storm its name was the destruction of the lighthouse on minot’s ledge, at cohasset, massachusetts. it was wrecked and swept away. at four o’clock the morning after the storm some of the wreckage was found strewn along the beach. two young men, assistant light keepers, were killed. since this was a very dangerous rock and many vessels had been lost there, a new lighthouse was erected at the same point soon afterward.

241

one of the most noted storms of the nineteenth century was “saxby’s gale,” which caused a great amount of destruction in new brunswick on october 4, 1869. the amazing fact was that this storm was predicted nearly a year before by a lieutenant saxby of the british navy. in november, 1868, he wrote to the newspapers in london, predicting that the earth would be visited by a storm of unusual violence attended by an extraordinary rise of tide at seven o’clock on the morning of october 5, 1869.

saxby wrote the following explanation of his forecast to the newspaper:

“i now beg to state with regard to 1869 at 7 a.m. october 5th, the moon will be at the part of her orbit which is nearest the earth. her attraction will be therefore at its maximum force. at noon of the same day the moon will be on the earth’s equator, a circumstance which never occurs without marked atmospheric disturbance, and at 2 p.m. of the same day lines drawn from the earth’s centre would cut the sun and moon in the same arc of right ascension (the moon’s attraction and the sun’s attraction will therefore be acting in the same direction); in other words, the new moon will be on the earth’s equator when in perigee, and nothing more threatening can, i say, occur without miracle. the earth it is true will not be in perihelion by some sixteen or seventeen seconds of semidiameter.

“with your permission i will during september next (1869) for the safety of mariners briefly remind your readers of this warning. in the meantime there will be time for the repair of unsafe sea walls and for the circulation of this notice throughout the world.”

it seems that saxby had made other similar forecasts. commenting on one of his predictions, a london newspaper, the standard, said:

“saxby claims to have been successful in some of his predictions, 242 and he may prove either lucky or clever on the present occasion. as the astronomical effect will operate over the entire globe, it is exceedingly likely there will be a gale of wind and a flood somewhere.”

the extraordinary fact is that a citizen of halifax, nova scotia, disturbed by saxby’s prediction for october 5, 1869, wrote to the local newspaper the week before:

“i believe that a heavy gale will be encountered here on tuesday next 5th october beginning perhaps on monday night or possibly deferred as late as tuesday night, but between these two periods it seems inevitable. at its greatest force the direction of the wind should be southwest, having commenced at or near south.

“should monday the 4th be a warm day for the season an additional guarantee of the coming storm will be given. roughly speaking the warmer it may be on the 4th, the more violent will be the succeeding storm. apart from the theory of the moon’s attraction, as applied to meteorology—which is disbelieved by many, the experience of any careful observer teaches him to look for a storm at next new moon, and the state of the atmosphere, and consequent weather lately appears to be leading directly not only to this blow next week, but to a succession of gales during next month.”

actually the fourth began as a warm day in new brunswick and later in the day the storm became violent, as predicted by the halifax citizen, named frederick allison.

there were high tide and heavy rain at halifax but the weather in general was a disappointment, for the citizens, after seeing the warning in the newspaper, had made many preparations about the wharves, moving goods to higher floors in warehouses, and anchoring boats out in the stream or securing them with lines in all directions.

near by in new brunswick, however, the storm on october 4 was severe. the gale rose to hurricane strength between 243 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. the tide at st. john was above any preceding mark. vessels broke away from their moorings and some were badly damaged. buildings were flooded and in st. john and other cities and towns in the area, buildings were demolished or unroofed, tracts of forest trees were uprooted, and cattle were drowned in great numbers.

all of this was rather remarkable as the storm reached its height at about 9:00 p.m. on october 4th, which was actually after midnight by london time and therefore on october 5th. regardless of these circumstances, this is an instance of a storm that had a name—“saxby’s gale”—long before it occurred and for years afterward. some weathermen thought that it was of tropical origin and had been a hurricane in lower latitudes, but if so, it came overland in its final days, for it was felt at washington, baltimore, philadelphia, and in parts of new england on the third and early on the fourth, with heavy rains and gales in many localities.

a few hurricanes have been named for the peculiar paths they followed. one that was very unusual was the “loop hurricane” of october, 1910. it was an intense storm that passed over western cuba, after which its center described a small loop over the waters between cuba and southern florida. when it finally crossed the coast of western florida, it caused tides so high that many people had to climb trees to keep from drowning. the “yankee hurricane” was so named by the mayor of miami. it was first observed to the east of bermuda in late october, 1935, moving westward. on approaching the coast of the carolinas, it took an extraordinary course, almost opposite to the normal track at that season, and went southwestward to southern florida, with its calm center over miami on the fourth of november. in the same year, another unusual storm known as the “hairpin hurricane” started in the western caribbean, moved northeastward to cuba, and then turned sharply southwestward 244 to honduras, describing a track shaped like a hairpin. it caused one of the worst disasters of that region. loss of life exceeded two thousand.

examples of storms named after ships are “racer’s storm” in 1837, named after a british sloop of war which was caught in its hurricane winds in the yucatan channel. another one of great violence was called “antje’s hurricane,” because it dismasted a schooner of that name in the atlantic in 1842.

in puerto rico, a hurricane may be given the name of the saint whose feast is celebrated on the day on which it strikes the island. the most famous are: santa ana, july 26, 1825; los angeles, august 2, 1837; santa elena, august 18, 1851; san narcisco, october 29, 1867; san felipe, september 13, 1876; san ciriaco, august 8, 1899; and the second san felipe, september 13, 1928.

doubtless the worst hurricane during the twentieth century was the one in 1928, “san felipe.” it caused damage estimated at fifty million dollars in puerto rico, and later struck florida, causing losses estimated at twenty-five million dollars. puerto rico lost three hundred lives, florida nearly two thousand.

one of the well-known storms of the west indies was the “padre ruiz hurricane,” which was named after a priest whose funeral services were being held in the church at santa barbara, santo domingo, on september 23, 1837, when the hurricane struck the island, causing an appalling loss of life and property destruction.

before the end of the nineteenth century, a weatherman in australia named clement wragge had begun giving girls’ names to tropical storms. down in that part of the southern hemisphere, hurricanes are called willy-willies. they come from the tropics on a southwest course and turn to the south and southeast on approaching or passing australia. their winds spiral inward around the center in a clockwise direction—the 245 opposite of the turning motion of our hurricanes.

wragge was the government meteorologist in queensland, and later ran a weather bureau of his own in brisbane. a tall, thin, bewhiskered man who stammered, he was known all over australia as a lecturer on weather and similar subjects. australians of that time said that, as likely as not, when due to talk about big winds, he would arrive at the lecture hall with “too many sheets out” and fail to keep on his feet during the lecture. though his name was clement, he was better known in australia as “inclement.”

storms which did not come from the tropics were called by men’s names. generally, wragge called them after politicians who had earned his disfavor, but for some reason he used girls’ names for the willy-willies. as an illustration for his weather journal called “wragge,” he had a weather map for february 2, 1898, with a willy-willy named “eline.” he predicted nasty weather from a disturbance named “hackenbush.”

e. b. buxton, a meteorologist for pan american airways, went to the south pacific in the late thirties and, after hearing about wragge and his names for willy-willies, adopted the idea for his charts. he recalled particularly using the name “chloe” for hurricanes.

with few exceptions, the hurricanes of the twentieth century went unnamed in the united states until 1951, although some were referred to in terms of place and date; for instance, the “new england hurricane of 1938.” unofficially, a few had names of people. in 1949, while president truman was in miami addressing the veterans of foreign wars, the first hurricane of the season was called “harry,” and a little later a bigger one which the newsmen said had greater authority struck southern florida and it was called “hurricane bess.”

in sending out advices and warnings of west indian 246 storms, it was not considered necessary to have names, as it was seldom that more than one was in existence at the same time. in 1944, when aircraft reconnaissance began, it became customary to get reports by radio-telephone and voice was used increasingly in other ways by the hurricane hunters. but this gave no particular trouble until september, 1950, when there were three hurricanes in progress at the same time.

two were in the atlantic, one north of bermuda and the other north of puerto rico. the third appeared in the eastern gulf of mexico. when aircraft were dispatched into these storms and began reporting, there was increasing confusion. other communications and public advices became mixed and there was much uncertainty as to which storm was meant. use of letters of the alphabet to identify them was no help, for letters b, c, d, e, and g sound much alike by radio-telephone; also a, j, and h. numbers were no better because weather reports are sent by numbers and the advisories issued on each storm are numbered, so that the number 3 could be the number of the storm, the number of the advice, an element of the weather, the hour, etc.

the agencies involved in weather and communications in connection with hurricanes met early in 1951 and decided to identify storms by the phonetic alphabet, which gave able for a, baker for b, charlie for c, etc., in accordance with the following table:

able

baker

charlie

dog

easy

fox

george

how

item

jig

king

love

mike

nan

oboe

peter

queen

roger

sugar

tare

uncle

victor

william

xray

yoke

zebra

247

in the 1951 season, this worked very well in the communications and the public began to speak of hurricanes by these names. at the start of the 1952 season, the agencies began to use the same list of names, starting with able for the first storm, but soon ran into difficulty. a new international alphabet had been introduced as follows:

alfa

bravo

coca

delta

echo

foxtrot

golf

hotel

india

joliet

kilo

lima

metro

nectar

oscar

papa

quebec

romeo

sierra

tango

union

victor

whiskey

extra

yankee

zulu

some of the agencies had begun using the new alphabet in their communications, while others stuck to the old one. so the third storm of the season was “charlie” part of the time and the rest of the time some wanted to call it “coca.” at the end of the season there was no agreement as to which phonetic alphabet should be used and there was criticism for having continued an alphabet which was obsolete internationally.

after a long discussion, military members of the conference suggested adoption of girls’ names, which had been used successfully for typhoons in the pacific for several years. just how this practice originated is not known, but it was thought by some persons to have come from the book storm, by george r. stewart, which was published in 1941. in this book a fictitious pacific storm is traced to the united states 248 and its effects on the people are narrated in the style of a novel. a young weatherman at san francisco, according to the story, called the storm maria. also there was wragge’s use of girls’ names for willy-willies in australia and pan american airway’s practice in connection with hurricanes as early as 1938. at any rate, with these pacific precedents, the weathermen and hurricane hunters adopted the following list for 1953 for hurricanes in the atlantic, caribbean and gulf of mexico:

alice

barbara

carol

dolly

edna

florence

gilda

hazel

irene

jill

katherine

lucy

mabel

norma

orpha

patsy

queen

rachel

susie

tina

una

vicky

wallis

this list worked perfectly in 1953; the public was pleased; the communicators were happy about it; the newspapers thought it was colorful; and use of the same names began to spread in canada and some of the countries to the southward. the same list was adopted with enthusiasm for the 1954 season.

in 1954, alice and barbara were minor hurricanes in the gulf of mexico, although alice broke up in tremendous rains in the upper watershed of the rio grande, after moving inland over mexico. there were floods which broke records for all time as the water moved down the river. the third storm, carol, started a controversy in the press and many letters were written to the editors and to the weather bureau, some favoring the scheme or trying to get a little fun out of it, but most of them finding objections of one kind or another. it was almost impossible to change in the 249 middle of the season, even if the hurricane hunters had wanted to, so it was continued during 1954 and each new hurricane aroused further comment. later hazel came along about the middle of october, a very severe hurricane from the caribbean sea. it turned northward between cuba and haiti and caused terrible damage and much loss of life. later it struck the coast of the carolinas and crossed the eastern states northward to new york. loss of life in the eastern states was variously estimated from fifty to eighty, and the damage to property, especially from falling trees, was enormous. there was another flood of complaints, this time about the name hazel.

before the argument was ended it threatened to be almost as stormy as some of the smaller hurricanes so named. early in 1955 the weather bureau had a meeting with the air force, navy and others interested in deciding the question. by that time the opinions received by mail were overwhelmingly in favor of continuing girls’ names. in the meantime, there had been a surprise. a storm having some of the characteristics of a hurricane was sighted in the caribbean sea in january and, in the absence of a decision on names to be used in 1955, it was called alice from the 1954 list. later, the names for others in 1955 were decided as follows:

brenda

connie

diane

edith

flora

gladys

hilda

ione

janet

katie

linda

martha

nellie

orva

peggy

queena

rosa

stella

trudy

ursa

verna

wilma

xenia

yvonne

zelda