"And they call the wind Maria..." Who DID call the wind Maria, where, and what other consequence was there to this?

This page was the closest I could get to the first part of your question; sorry... no luck with the latter part.
http://www.ggweather.com/winds.html

They Call the Wind Maria (pronounced Mar-eye-ah) is from the Broadway musical "Paint Your Wagon".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint_Your_Wagon_%28musical%29

Yes, but where did they get it from? And what else derived from it? Kerrigwen has found some of the info, but she's not being very open with it....

In a book published in 1940, 'Storm' by George Rippey Stewart, the storm, described over the course of 12 chapters, each involving a day in its duration, was called 'Maria'. It was thought that it was this which prompted meteorologists to give storms personal names.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_R._Stewart

Well done, Maggie (and well done too the others).
According to http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/basics/naming.shtml (and I suppose they should know), it was the custom in WW II following 'Storm' to give female names instead of the previous saint's day designations. This became official in 1953. George Stewart had another distinction - possibly the only expert in family names to appear as an expert witness in this field in a murder trial!