Dear Tom,
What was the first hurricane to be given a man’s name?
Robert J. O’Kelly
Dear Robert,
Atlantic Basin hurricanes were bestowed women’s names beginning in the 1953 season, and starting in 1979, alternate storms were given male names.
The season’s first storm in 1979 was Tropical Storm Ana, but in July Tropical Storm Bob formed in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Bob quickly became a minimal hurricane with top winds of 75 m.p.h., making landfall near New Orleans on July 11. The name Bob was retired from the list of hurricane names in 1991 after Category 3 Hurricane Bob with top winds of 115 m.p.h. skirted the Atlantic Seaboard before making landfall in New England and then moving through the Canadian Maritime provinces. The 1991 version of Hurricane Bob was ultimately responsible for 18 deaths and more than $1.5 billion in damage.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Dennis Haller plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
