It's "Ah-na," not Ann-a
The season's first tropical storm has formed in the Atlantic, and the National Hurricane Center wants you to know that it's pronounced "Ah-na," as in Anna Faris, not "Ann-a," as in "Anniversary." So there.
Ana formed overnight out of what had been the deteriorating remnants of Tropical Depression 2, only the second such storm center to form this season.
Anyway, the storm is chugging westward across the ocean at about 16 mph, with top sustained winds of just 40 mph. That's just barely a tropical storm, but Ana is expected to strengthen in the next few days.
Here is the latest advisory. Here is the latest forecast storm track. And here is the view from space.
Hard on Ana's heels is Tropical Depression 3, which is trekking across the ocean from the same hurricane nursery near the Cape Verde Islands that spawned Ana. TD-3 is expected to become Tropical Storm Bill sometime today or tomorrow.
Here is the latest advisory on TD3. Here is the forecast storm track (which looks a lot like Ana's path). And here is the view from space. That's TD-3 at 35 degrees West, and Ana at about 47 degrees West.
Hurricane forecasters are also watching a stormy area moving into the eastern Gulf of Mexico. It is given only a slim chance of developing into a tropical storm in the next few days.
Here's a pretty cool view of the water vapor concentrations across the Atlantic basin, showing from right to left, TD-3, Ana and the mishmash in the Gulf and the Caribbean.
Comments
Does it really matter how its pronounced? Maybe they pronounce it Ah-na in French,but Americans say ANNA. I think the NHC would be better off just sticking to tracking storms/hurricanes instead
FR: Actually, it does matter. The names are drawn from the languages of the region, not just English, and it's just common courtesy to pay attention to pronunciation. It is an international convention. Anyway, some Americans pronounce it Ah-na. Like Anna Faris. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml
Posted by: Linda | August 15, 2009 7:29 PM
It was refreshing to read your blog entry, It's "Ah-na," not Ann-a, which addressed the name pronunciation issue in regards to Tropical Storm Ana. Furthermore, I must applaud you for the comment you made to Linda by saying that it was common courtesy to pay attention to pronunciation. I pronounce my name Ah-na. You would think that the name Ana would be easy to pronounce, but I have lost count on how many times my name has been mispronounced by people calling me Ann-a let alone misspell it by adding a second ‘n’ to it. I oftentimes say to my husband that it is the equivalent to the sound of nails being scraped across a chalkboard. Of course, I don’t let it slide; I tell them how to enunciate my name and spell it. Is it not amazing to know that a simple palindrome name such as Ana can be so frequently misspelled and mispronounced?
Posted by: Ana | August 16, 2009 11:41 AM
Linda's comment reinforces that hurricanes and cyclones are typically ignored if they make landfall outside of U.S. borders. Just ask the people in Taiwan, if you can find someone who isn't mourning one of the 500 dead.
Posted by: Jason | August 16, 2009 1:58 PM
Looks like Cuba is going to feel a little bit of this hurricane too.
Posted by: Chris R | August 17, 2009 2:47 PM
Ana-I have had my name mispronounced and mispelled SO many times! People call me Anna or Ana or they spell my name with an 'e' etc.
I don't correct them - I let it go. Life's too short. Anyway, it's fun to be a bit of an enigma. Lighten Up
Posted by: Ann | August 24, 2009 9:36 AM