Roberta Gonzales Explains How A Hurricane Gets Its Name
KPIX 5 Morning Weather Anchor Roberta Gonzales answers the questions you never get to ask on-air.
Q: Roberta; I heard you and Stan Bunger talking about two hurricanes in the Pacific Ocean named with the letter O, but I didn't hear the explanation of why? I thought hurricanes are named alphabetically from A to Z. Why to "O's"? Manual Ortiz, San Francisco
A: You are right! Hurricanes are named alphabetically in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. And alternate girl name, boy name, girl name, boy name.
This season we have seen/heard of two hurricanes beginning with the letter "O" in the Pacific Ocean. Hurricane Oho and the current Hurricane Olaf. It all begins with the location, location, location of a Hurricane! Typhoons, cyclones and hurricanes are all the same type of weather -- it's where these storms are LOCATED that depends on its title. Hurricanes are located in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, but in the Northwestern Pacific they are referred to as typhoons. Cyclones can be found in the Indian Ocean as well as the Bay of Bengal.
Hurricane Oho formed in the Central North Pacific and Hurricane Olaf formed in the Eastern North Pacific. That means we have experienced two hurricanes in the Pacific Ocean with the letter "O." Those names come off two separate hurricane lists generated by NOAA.
Meanwhile, if the forecast stays on track, Hurricane Olaf will affect our San Francisco Bay Area with increasing clouds and higher humidity Tuesday and rain likely by Wednesday! However, all eyes are on the most powerful hurricane in the Western Hemisphere ever recorded, Hurricane Patricia. This category 5 hurricane will slam into Mexico late Friday afternoon bringing catastrophic conditions, before lifting remnants into Texas over the weekend.
Do you have a question or observation you would like to share with me? I would love to hear from you! Please email Gonzales@kpix.cbs.com
