TITLE:
Are Hurricanes with Female Names More Severe or Costly than Male-Named Hurricanes?
AUTHORS:
Paul M. Sommers
KEYWORDS:
Tropical Cyclones, Hurricane Severity, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Storms
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.10 No.9,
August
30,
2022
ABSTRACT: In 2014, researchers concluded that hurricanes with female names were
deadlier than male-named hurricanes. The analysis used data on hurricanes over
six decades that included a period of time when only female names were
used. In this paper, the author examines all hurricanes (with alternating
female and male names) along the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico from
1979 to 2021. The analysis shows that hurricanes with female names are no more
severe (in terms of maximum wind speed or barometric pressure) than male-named
hurricanes. Moreover, hurricanes with female names have not resulted in damage
with higher average estimated costs than their male counterparts.