A Hurricane by Any Other Name ...

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Now that hurricane Jeanne has spent its fury and Florida residents are emerging from this year's siege of tropical storms, Jeanne Van Wyck is breathing a little easier. The hurricane that killed 1,500 in Haiti and caused an estimated $8 billion in damage across Florida was named after the churchgoing grandmother, 75, who lives in Miami. "I didn't think it would cause so much damage," says Van Wyck with a sigh. "I couldn't harm a fly."

Jeanne's name was put on the hurricane list more than 25 years ago by her longtime friend and weather forecaster Gilbert Clark. Clark, 81, who worked at the National Hurricane Center from 1955 to 1990, was in charge of naming the storms until 1979. "I was running out of names, so I threw her name in there," says Clark. He also put in the names of Jeanne's children Diana and Beryl.

Most of the names Clark chose are still being used, because hurricane names are repeated in a six-year cycle. A name is retired only when the namesake storm causes extensive damage and the country affected makes such a request. In 2001, for example, Michelle replaced Marilyn, which demolished the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1995. Opal became Olga after its blow to the Florida Panhandle that same year. This year Andrew, which devastated Florida in 1992, was replaced by Alex. "We've probably heard the last of Jeanne," Clark notes. Van Wyck won't be sorry to see it go. Says she: "The folks at church are getting sick of hearing my name."