Why are hurricanes given names but not tornadoes?
Aug 24, 2010
in
Tornado Questions
We all know the names of some famous(infamous) hurricanes such as: Andrew, Gilbert and Katrina; but why are tornadoes not given names? They are both forces of nature. Any ideas? Met. techs out there?
thanks for the answers so far, i appreciate this.
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5 comments
JR on August 24, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Tornadoes are not named because there is very little warning. The reason tropical cyclones are named is so people can follow them as they develop and move along, making each system easy to keep track of. Tornadoes form very quickly and without warning, and it would not make sense to try to apply a name to them.
Additionally, while there are usually no more than a dozen named tropical cyclones in a year, Over 1,000 tornadoes hit the U.S. each year, far to many to be named.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_are_tornadoes_not_named
SWeeT on August 24, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Tornados are much more frequent, however, often less damaging which is not always the case… They are not named because they are short lived, much more frequent, and not always a threat to people directly… Tornados may happen in the middle of nowhere…
SpartanCanuck on August 24, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Hurricanes represent major, long-lived storm systems hundreds of miles across, which can be tracked over a course of days (and which tornadoes may be a component).
A big tornado’s lifespan is measured in minutes, and its area of effect is extremely localized. It is a much less significant event in terms of disruption and destruction, and its highly transitory nature precludes the sort of significant tracking where a name would be beneficial.
blondie...ttc 4yrs and counting. on August 24, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Tropical storms and hurricanes are given names to avoid confusion when more than one storm is being followed at the same time. A storm is named when it reaches tropical storm strength with winds of 39 mph. A storm becomes a hurricane when its wind speed reaches 75 mph. A tornado on the other hand can not be tracked and is here with little or no warning and gone before it can evenbe tracked. Therefore it does not require a name to keep it identified.
Mr.Funeral-1890-2010 on August 24, 2010 at 9:24 pm
I have no clue,I have always wondered about that