WI: USA begins naming typhoons and hurricanes before 1940s/1950s

[PGSBHurricane]

As many of us know, tropical cyclones worldwide are named to reduce confusion with communicating between forecasters and the general public. In the late 19th century, Australian weather forecaster Clement Wragge began informally naming them with letters from the Greek alphabet, South Sea Island girls' names, and political figures he disliked. This largely fell out of favor by the early 20th century and no one picked this practice back up until the 1941 George Stewart novel "Storm" where a junior meteorologist named Pacific extratropical cyclones after his ex-girlfriends. During World War II, this novel was read widely among US Army Air Corp and Navy meteorologists. Meteorologists stationed in Saipan in 1944 decided to name tropical cyclones after their wives and the US army publically adopted the usage of female names for western Pacific typhoons (which had control until 2000). Hurricanes in the North Atlantic Ocean were not named until 1950 when they began being named after the US phonetic alphabet but this caused confusion in 1952 when the International Phoentic Alphabet was used. Finally, in 1953, the US Weather Bureau officially began naming hurricanes after women.

But what if formally naming storms after people began earlier for the USA? Like, say, around the First World War instead of the Second? Perhaps greater American involvement in the Caribbean (a la purchasing Santo Domingo in 1870 or so) or partaking in the Scramble for Africa in the 1880s which would have necessitated a greater need to build up the American military (especially the Navy)? Or perhaps airplanes are built earlier or radios invented earlier as well? Thoughts?

 

[1940LaSalle]

About the only change that occurs to me is references to notable storms in journalism, history and the like . Instead of "the New England hurricane of 1938" we might have references to hurricane Gladys (choosing a sort of '30s name at random). Beyond that, less ambiguity in literature and that's about it.

 

[PGSBHurricane]

About the only change that occurs to me is references to notable storms in journalism, history and the like . Instead of "the New England hurricane of 1938" we might have references to hurricane Gladys (choosing a sort of '30s name at random). Beyond that, less ambiguity in literature and that's about it.

It’s not necessarily the result of naming storms earlier I’m interested in but rather how plausible would it be to have them named earlier and when would it be possible (and how if so).

 

[PGSBHurricane]

Could the British perhaps do this is coordination with the USA?

 

[David-Shiell]

Perhaps greater American involvement in the Caribbean (a la purchasing Santo Domingo in 1870 or so) or partaking in the Scramble for Africa in the 1880s which would have necessitated a greater need to build up the American military (especially the Navy)?

What about getting Equatorial Guinea from Spain at the end of the Spanish-American War?

 

[PGSBHurricane]

What about getting Equatorial Guinea from Spain at the end of the Spanish-American War?

Never really thought of that. Not a bad idea.

 

[David-Shiell]

The tricky part is setting things up so the US would actually want Equatorial Guinea. My scenario is for American missionaries to be in the colony in the 1880s, and perhaps due to sectarian differences, be subjected to harassment by Spanish authorities. Let Hearst & Co run with this in the lead-up to the USS Maine, then make possession of Equatorial Guinea become part of the peace settlement. Now, historically speaking, Guinea was a remarkably neglected part of the Spanish Empire, and had the US demanded it, they would probably have gotten it. Sugar and Cocoa plantations formed the backbone of the economy prior to the discovery of oil.