Weather: names of low and high pressure areas - this is how they come about
If the weather goes crazy and a storm rages over Germany, the name of the responsible low and high pressure area is on everyone's lips for several days. Have you ever wondered where the names for lows and highs actually come from? The story behind it is quite interesting.
The names of the high and low pressure areas - that's where they come from
It all started in the 1940s when the U.S. Weather Service began to name female typhoons in the Pacific.
- In 1954, the meteorology student Karla Wege had the idea of also giving names for the highs and lows in Germany. This idea was taken up by the Institute for Meteorology at the Free University of Berlin and since then the storms have had a name for us.
- There is of course a system behind the naming for the storms. Each year starts with the letter A and then the alphabet is processed one after the other in the course of the year. As soon as the letter Z has been assigned, the A is continued.
- Originally, all lows were always given a female first name, while the highs always had a male first name. This discriminatory activity was put an end to in 1997.
- Since 1998, the highs have been given female first names and the lows male in odd years. In even years there is a corresponding change.
Weather godfather - give your name to a storm
In order to improve the finances of the Institute for Meteorology at the Free University of Berlin a little, at the beginning of the 21st century some students had another good idea: the weather sponsorship.
- Since 2002 you have been able to sponsor a storm by becoming a weather sponsor. That is, you name a high or a low, depending on what you want. When choosing a name, however, only first names approved by the registry office are permitted and the Institute of Meteorology reserves the right to reject a desired name.
- As a weather sponsor for a high-pressure area, you have to dig a little deeper. A high costs you around 300 euros and a low costs around 200 euros. Added to this is VAT.
- Alternatively, you have the option of buying a name sponsorship on eBay or acquiring a so-called risk sponsorship from the Institute for Meteorology at the FU Berlin.
Sponsoring a storm is a great gift idea, but not cheap. In the next post we will present some very nice and free gift ideas.