Fascinating things about hurricanes you probably didn’t know

Hurricane Irma was one of the most intense Hurricanes to hit the United States since Hurricane Katrina 12 years ago. The Category 5 hurricane claimed at least 22 lives in the US alone and caused catastrophic damages in parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Before Irma’s landfall, state officials ordered schools and state offices to be closed and mandatory evacuations were implemented for the safety of its people.

As the states affected by Hurricane Irma begin their massive cleanup, here are a few fascinating things about hurricanes that you may not have known.

Hurricanes are given human names initially as a joke

Clement Wragge, an Australian meteorologist, was the person to start giving names to hurricanes, although, it wasn’t as systematic as they are today. He used to name hurricanes after Greek gods and women he found attractive.

Eventually, he started giving storms human names but only as a joke. Out of spite, he started naming storms after politicians he didn’t like, such as the first prime ministers of Australia, Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin.

During storms, guards usually stay at their post at Tomb of the Unknown

The Tomb of the Unknown is a place where fallen soldiers, who were not identified, are buried. Out of respect for these soldiers, in an event of a storm, guards have to stay and stand directly in the middle of the storm.

On a few occasions, they were permitted to hide from the storm if it gets too intense. However, they still decided to risk their lives and remain at their posts to stand guard.

During Hurricane Sandy, only one guard reportedly volunteered to guard the fallen soldiers and spent 23 hours standing in the middle of the storm.

People have been asking the government to nuke hurricanes

As crazy as it sounds, people have been apparently asking the government to use nuclear weapons to stop powerful hurricanes, and it’s been going on for the past 60 years.

Unsurprisingly, the government never gave in to the ridiculous idea. However, a meteorologist named Jack W. Reed actually believed that the crazy idea would work. In 1959, he developed a plan where a submarine would travel into the heart of a storm and launch nuclear missiles into the eye of a hurricane.

Reed believed that the impact would weaken the storm by replacing its warm air with cold air. However, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration thought it wasn’t a good idea. In fact, they believe that the explosion would only create a radioactive disaster across the world.