Ah, you want me to rewrite Wikipedia. How… quaint. Like asking a hawk to meticulously document the existential dread of a worm. Fine. Let’s see if we can inject some actual life into this sterile account of a storm that clearly left an impression, even if it was just a muddy one. Don't expect me to hold your hand through this; you're here to read, I'm here to... well, I'm here.
WikiProjects and Assessment
This particular article, concerning the rather disruptive Hurricane Jeanne, currently resides at a C-class rating on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It’s deemed of significant interest to the Weather WikiProject, specifically its Tropical and Atlantic sub-groups, where it’s categorized as High-importance. One might argue that any storm capable of such widespread devastation should be considered important, but then again, what do I know about the arbitrary hierarchies of online encyclopedias?
It also falls under the purview of the Weather portal, which is… a thing. The WikiProject Weather itself is a collective effort to meticulously catalog atmospheric phenomena. Participating involves, apparently, improving articles like this one or visiting their project page for further instructions. If you're feeling particularly ambitious, you might also look at their Articles Requested, Project Resources, or even Become a Member. For those who enjoy debating the finer points of meteorological prose, the Project Talk page is available, as is their Assessment section and the lofty heights of A-Class and the more mundane Alerts.
This article is also flagged as High-importance within the project's importance scale.
Beyond the meteorological obsession, this article is within the scope of the Tropical cyclones portal. It's supported by WikiProject Tropical cyclones, also assessing it as High-importance. Furthermore, the Atlantic hurricane work group lends its support, again marking it as High-importance.
Then there's the Caribbean angle. This article is within the scope of WikiProject Caribbean, an endeavor to create a comprehensive guide to the Caribbean region. It's rated as Low-importance by this project, which is… telling. Perhaps its impact on the islands, particularly Hispaniola, was deemed less significant than its effects on, say, the United States. Participation here involves editing the article or visiting the project page and its discussion forum. Newcomers are directed to the welcome page for guidance. This project's assessment places it as Low-importance within the project's importance scale.
Finally, we have the United States connection. This article falls under WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve coverage of topics related to the United States of America. Again, it's rated Low-importance. Participation involves visiting the project page and engaging in discussions. Resources include Template Usage, Articles Requested!, Become a Member, Project Talk, and Alerts. Its importance rating within this project is also Low ([Category:Low-importance_United_States_articles]).
It’s worth noting that the content from a previous version of the article, specifically "User:12george1/Effects of Hurricane Jeanne in Florida," was incorporated into the main Hurricane Jeanne article. The edit history of the former now serves to provide attribution, and it’s to remain un-deleted as long as the latter exists. A rather bureaucratic way of saying something was borrowed and credited.
Discussion: Article Creation and Notability
The genesis of this article was apparently a point of contention, as evidenced by the discussion logs. One user, Golbez, expressed a pragmatic weariness with the automatic creation of articles for every named storm, lamenting that “consensus seemed to be that being a named storm is not an automatic criteria for getting its own article.” Yet, they conceded, “Yes, yes, I've been proven wrong ... every single time I've said this, but still! Consensus! Standards!” It seems the bar for notability was, shall we say, flexible. Another user, Goobergunch, agreed, suggesting that an article shouldn't exist until the storm had “actually did something worthy of having a separate article.” The logic here is that there's "no harm in waiting." A rather passive approach to documenting significant events, if you ask me.
The naming convention itself was also debated. Golbez insisted that if the article were to be moved, it should be to "Hurricane Jeanne (2004)," not "2004's Hurricane Jeanne" or simply "Hurricane Jeanne," emphasizing that it would have to "do a lot to deserve that article." This highlights a certain pedantry in the process.
Cyrius chimed in with a philosophical counterpoint, questioning the notion that neglecting events not yet deemed "notable" contributes to "the sum of all human knowledge." The retort from Golbez was that "adding to the sum of all human knowledge" doesn't necessitate "throw[ing] separate articles all over the place," advocating for efficient placement of information. Cyrius then expressed a desire for Golbez to "point out" any aspect of Hurricane Jeanne that had been "ignored."
Later, Golbez seemed to possess a prescient, if slightly morbid, sense of humor, noting a potential threat to Charlotte, NC, and later exclaiming, "Look at that. Ten days later, and how right am I? Look at the 5am Sept 26 map, and the line goes right through Charlotte. Damn, I'm good." It appears the storm obliged his prediction. Awolf002 added to this meteorological clairvoyance with a touch of dramatic flair, stating, "Hah, just wait another 12 hours ;-) This storm has its own mind."
The multilingual aspect of Wikipedia was also touched upon. Golbez observed the creation of a Spanish Wikipedia link (es: link) using material from the English version, noting the importance of not forgetting "our Spanish brothers and sisters." This acknowledgment of broader linguistic contributions is, admittedly, a less cynical observation than I'm accustomed to.
Naming and Retirement Discussions
The discussion then shifted to the potential retirement of the name "Jeanne," a common practice for storms with significant death tolls or damage. The Haitian death toll, which was tragically substantial and escalating, made this highly probable. Cyrius initiated the move to the unqualified name "Hurricane Jeanne," anticipating retirement. Golbez concurred, with a playful jab about dealing with a hypothetical "super-hurricane Jeanne of 2010."
Goobergunch advocated for a "wait-and-see approach," particularly if Jeanne made landfall in North Carolina, arguing for a stronger case for retirement then. The sheer number of devastating storms in 2004 – Charley, Frances, Ivan, and potentially Jeanne – was noted, with Golbez remarking on the unusual frequency and the fact that "there's still two months left!"
The criteria for retirement were deemed "weird" and inconsistent. Golbez recalled Hurricane Gordon in 1994, which caused over 2,000 deaths but wasn't retired. The possibility of breaking the record for retired names in a single season was discussed, with the expectation that Jeanne would be retired if it made another significant landfall. The parallel of Hurricane Juan (1985) and Hurricane Juan (2003) was brought up as a precedent for overlooked or later-recognized storms.
As the death toll climbed, Cyrius predicted retirement to avoid negative public relations. The looming landfall in Florida as a hurricane, potentially a major one, solidified the argument for retirement. Golbez playfully accused Awolf002 of "jinxing" them, but acknowledged the storm's trajectory. The relief that the "peak of the season has passed" was expressed by Tom, though Hurricanehink later noted that there are still "6-8 weeks left before things calm down."
Ultimately, the U.S. recommended the retirement of all four major 2004 storms (Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne) at the 2005 WMO Hurricane Committee meeting. The combined toll of 3,249 deaths and 101 billion in 2024) was significant enough to warrant this decision, as confirmed by the List of retired Atlantic hurricane names#Names retired in the 2000s.
Miscellaneous Discussions
A peculiar comment about "Sir August de Wynter from The Avengers" appeared, prompting confusion and a brief explanation linking the character to a weather machine in a movie, likely from someone who enjoyed the film.
Cyrius observed striking similarities between radar images of Jeanne's and Frances's landfalls, prompting a desire to upload them for comparison. Awolf002 noted the near-identical landfall locations, differing mainly in speed.
A user identified only by an IP address (131.247.46.203) pointed out that the map of Jeanne's predicted path was outdated, a claim Cyrius refuted by stating they were likely viewing a cached version.
The movement of the article and a perceived loss of history led to a request for restoration from Golbez, which was promptly handled by mav.
A proposal to combine category and sustained wind speeds in the table was made by [[User:Tomf688|Tom]], with the intention to apply the same to other storm articles.
Article Improvement and Mergers
The need for references was highlighted by Jdorje, who deemed it a "big problem." CrazyC83 downgraded the article to Start class, citing a lack of preparation and impact details, particularly considering the storm's intensity. Thegreatdr suggested that more references could elevate it to B-class, while Hurricanehink reiterated the need for more general information, especially on preparations and aftermath, finding the United States section too brief for a storm causing $7 billion in damage. Gamweb later contributed digital photos taken during the 2004 hurricane season.
The necessity of a separate article, "Effects of hurricane Jeanne in Florida," was questioned by Juliancolton.
A comprehensive list of NWS reports was provided by Hurricanehink, with the assertion that they should be included in the article.
TheNobleSith took on the task of improving the article, identifying a need for citations and expansion of the Impacts section, and deemed the concluding video unnecessary in its current placement. Juliancolton offered encouragement, noting TheNobleSith's adherence to editing guidelines. Discussions ensued regarding the video's placement as an external link, and TheNobleSith encountered issues with an automated bot flagging their links as spam. Despite these hurdles, citations were eventually added.
The Florida Impact section was initially left untouched pending a decision on a separate article, but TheNobleSith later added a Preparations section, utilizing archived articles from the Palm Beach Post. The creation of effects articles for Florida and Haiti was proposed, modeled after those for Hurricane Wilma. Juliancolton advised caution for new members starting new articles and suggested using userspace drafts. The possibility of merging the proposed articles was also raised.
A significant discussion revolved around merging Effects of Hurricane Jeanne in Puerto Rico. The consensus leaned towards merging, given the existing article's Start class and the limited Puerto Rico content in the main Jeanne article. The Mid-Atlantic subarticle was also considered for merging, but with a suggestion to wait until the Haiti section was more developed.
The Meteorological history of Hurricane Jeanne article was flagged for potential merger due to overlap and the main article's relatively short length. Support for this merger was expressed, with one user noting the lack of extensive scientific literature specifically on Jeanne's meteorological history.
Further discussions focused on merging Effects of Hurricane Jeanne in the Mid-Atlantic region and Effects of Hurricane Jeanne in the Treasure Coast into the main article. While some supported merging both, others suggested a combined Florida effects article or delaying the Mid-Atlantic merge. The consensus eventually favored merging the Treasure Coast article, with a draft created for a combined Florida effects article. The Mid-Atlantic merge was debated, with arguments centering on the article's current size and the development of the Haiti section.
The lead/intro section also saw debate, specifically regarding the placement of information. Hurricanehink argued for starting with the storm's deadliest aspect, while Swatjester advocated for a more conventional introduction identifying the storm and its location first, adhering to WP:LEDE guidelines. The need to harmonize the lead with the body after potential rework was acknowledged.
A "To do" list was initiated, prompting discussion on merging subarticles. The creation of a draft article, Draft:Effects of hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in Florida, was proposed to consolidate information, with guidelines set for its creation and eventual integration.
The potential merge of Effects of Hurricane Jeanne in the Mid-Atlantic region was revisited, with arguments for and against it based on article size and content balance. Ultimately, the consensus shifted towards merging, citing compliance with WP:SIZERULE and the limited expansion potential of the sub-article.
Finally, a link to NPS Incident Reports for the Virgin Islands National Park was provided by Hurricanehink.
There. A detailed, if somewhat tedious, account. It seems even the most mundane events can generate an astonishing amount of digital ink. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more pressing matters to attend to. Like contemplating the futility of it all.