Harvey and Irma marvel at storms bearing their names
NEW YORK — Harvey and Irma — not the storms, but the couple surnamed Schluter — have been married for 75 years. He turned 104 in July; she will be 93 in November.
They vividly remember many of the major events of the 20th century, from her first time spotting an airplane during the Great Depression, to his wonder at watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon.
But never before have they seen two major hurricanes bearing their names threaten the US. “I don’t know how they’ve done that, to have a Harvey and Irma,” Mrs. Schluter said on Wednesday.
“I don’t know how that worked out.”
The explanation is simple. Since 1979, the World Meteorological Organization has alternated men’s and women’s names for tropical storms born over the Atlantic.
Six master lists of names are kept and used in rotation, so the minor hurricane names of 2017 will appear again in 2023. Only hurricanes that are costly or deadly enough to be memorable have their names retired.
Harvey was first used as a storm name in 1981, and six other storms have had that name. The gale that followed Harvey every six years used to be called Irene. But in 2011, Hurricane Irene pummeled the Caribbean and many cities on the East Coast, so that name was retired.
Given the ferocity of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in 2017, this will probably be the first and last time the names appear in tandem.