Katrina, Sandy, Ivan, Irma, Isabel, Andrew, Maria… all beautiful names, with devastating consequences!
Have you ever wondered why natural disasters are given such familiar names?
In this post, we’ll reveal everything you need to know about hurricane names and how they’re selected.
How are names selected for the Atlantic Hurricane Season?
The Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June through November each year, and during this time, tropical storms and hurricanes are given names to help distinguish them from one another.
The naming process for Atlantic hurricanes is managed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which is responsible for selecting the names used for storms that form in the Atlantic basin.
The WMO maintains a list of names that is updated every six years. The list includes 21 names for each year, with the letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z excluded because there are too few names that begin with these letters.
If more than 21 storms occur in a given year, the remaining storms are named using the letters of the Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, etc.).
The names on the list are selected in advance and are chosen to reflect the cultural diversity of the Atlantic region.
The names alternate between male and female names and are used in alphabetical order.
If a storm is particularly deadly or costly, the name may be retired and replaced with a new name!
Different types of hurricane names throughout the world
While the WMO manages the naming process for Atlantic hurricanes, other regions throughout the world use different naming conventions for tropical storms and hurricanes.
- In the eastern Pacific Ocean, for example, storms are named by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. Names for eastern Pacific storms are also chosen in advance and alternate between male and female names.
- In the western Pacific Ocean, typhoons are named by the Japan Meteorological Agency. The names are chosen from a list of 140 names submitted by 14 countries in the region. The names are also selected in advance and are used in alphabetical order, but there are no plans to retire names that are associated with particularly deadly or costly storms.
- In the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific, tropical storms and hurricanes are named by regional meteorological centers. The names used in these regions are often reflective of the culture and geography of the region, and there is no standard naming convention used across all of the regions.
Florida hurricane names
Some Florida hurricane names from over the years include:
- Hurricane Andrew (1992) – One of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history, with catastrophic damage in southern Florida.
- Hurricane Charley (2004) – A Category 4 hurricane that made landfall in southwestern Florida, causing widespread damage and power outages.
- Hurricane Ivan (2004) – A Category 3 hurricane that caused flooding and damage in the Florida panhandle.
- Hurricane Wilma (2005) – A Category 3 hurricane that caused widespread damage and power outages in southern Florida.
- Hurricane Irma (2017) – A Category 5 hurricane that caused extensive damage and flooding throughout the state.
- Hurricane Michael (2018) – A Category 5 hurricane that devastated the Florida panhandle, causing widespread damage and power outages.
- Hurricane Dorian (2019) – A Category 5 hurricane that caused flooding and damage in the Bahamas before skirting the east coast of Florida.
- Hurricane Sally (2020) – A Category 2 hurricane that caused flooding and damage in the Florida panhandle and Alabama.
- Hurricane Eta (2020) – A Category 4 hurricane that caused flooding and damage in Central America before making landfall in the Florida Keys as a tropical storm.
- Hurricane Ida (2021) – A Category 4 hurricane that caused flooding and damage in Louisiana, but also produced heavy rainfall and flooding in parts of Florida.
Names matter when it comes to hurricane season
The naming process for hurricanes is an important aspect of hurricane season, as it helps to distinguish one storm from another and can aid in communication among meteorologists, emergency responders, and the general public.
