Isidore; the day a hurricane changed gender upon entering Yucatán

Mérida, Yucatán, (September 22, 2021).- 19 years ago, what is considered the most devastating hurricane of modern years hit the Yucatan.

Although it did not have the strength of Gilberto in September 1988, Hurricane Isidore caused further destruction by its slow advance and by the time it remained ashore on the peninsula.

A peculiarity of this meteor, which was popularly known as Isidore in Yucatán, is that in reality the name it had was feminine and due to a bad translation of a communication medium, which was predominant at that time, it remained masculine.

It is even mentioned that NOAA sent a letter to the aforementioned media outlet to request that translations of the names assigned to tropical cyclones no longer be made, since in the lists of each year there are names in English, French and Spanish, that is, the languages spoken in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico region.

In Yucatán it was customary for the names of cyclones to be translated into Spanish. Hence, Gilbert was known as Gilberto.

There is a case that also draws attention: Hurricane Agnes, which was the first on the 1972 list and when translated it was left as Inés (as if it were a mid-ratio storm).

Currently, as a result of the problem with Isidore’s translation, the names from tropical cyclones are no longer being translated.

The Yucatan Times
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Isidore; the day a hurricane changed gender upon entering Yucatán

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