When do storms get names

The names used for recent and future Atlantic storms are listed in the table on this page. Names have been given to Atlantic hurricanes for a few hundred years. People living in the Caribbean Islands named storms after the saint of the day from the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar for the day on which the hurricane occurred such as "Hurricane San Felipe.

These names were difficult to remember, difficult to communicate and subject to errors. During the Second World War, military meteorologists working in the Pacific began to use women's names for storms. That naming method made communication so easy that in it was adopted by the National Hurricane Center for use on storms originating in the Atlantic Ocean.

Once this practice started, hurricane names quickly became part of common language, and public awareness of hurricanes increased dramatically. In , meteorologists watching storms in the eastern North Pacific began using men's names for half of the storms. Meteorologists for the Atlantic Ocean began using men's names in For each year a list of 21 names, each starting with a different letter of the alphabet, was developed and arranged in alphabetical order names beginning with the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z were not used.

The first tropical storm of the year was given the name beginning with the letter "A," the second with the letter "B" and so on through the alphabet. During even-numbered years, men's names were given to the odd-numbered storms and during odd-numbered years, women's names were given to odd-numbered storms see the table for recent name lists. Today, the World Meteorological Organization maintains the lists of names for tropical storms around the world.

For the Atlantic hurricane names, there are six lists which are reused every six years. Hurricane Frances: Satellite image of a hurricane named "Frances" as it approaches Florida. The name "Frances" was retired after the hurricane caused major damage in The only change that is made to the list of Atlantic hurricane names is the occasional retirement of a name.

This is done when a hurricane causes so much death and destruction that reuse of the same name would be insensitive to the people who suffered losses. When that happens the World Meteorological Organization replaces the name. For example, "Katrina" has been retired from the name list and will not be used again. How do storms and hurricanes get their names? World meteorological agencies decide when a storm gets a name and what to call it. Waves crash on the beach next to Brighton pier as high winds continue following Storm Ciara.

Reuse this content. They are now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization. The original name lists featured only women's names. In , men's names were introduced and they alternate with the women's names.

Six lists are used in rotation. Thus, the list will be used again in The only time that there is a change in the list is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for reasons of sensitivity. If that occurs, then at an annual meeting by the WMO Tropical Cyclone Committees called primarily to discuss many other issues the offending name is stricken from the list and another name is selected to replace it.

There are five tropical cyclone regional bodies, i. For instance, Hurricane Committee determines a pre-designated list of hurricane names for six years separately at its annual session. Naming procedures in other regions are almost the same as in the Caribbean. In some of the regions, the lists are established by alphabetical order of the names. In other regions, the lists are established following the alphabetical order of the country names - please see "Tropical Cyclone Names Worldwide" below for more details.

In general, tropical cyclones are named according to the rules at a regional level. The names selected are those that are familiar to the people in each region. The list of hurricane names covers only 21 letters of the alphabet as it is difficult to find six suitable names one for each of the 6 rotating lists starting with Q, U, X, Y and Z.

In the interests of safety, the name must be instantly recognizable. In addition, English, French and Spanish names are used in balance on the list in order to reflect the geographical coverage of Atlantic and Caribbean storms. The list is also gender balanced and respectful of societal sensitivities. Until , when a very active hurricane season occurred and the list was exhausted, the Greek alphabet was used Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, etc. This has occurred twice. The first time was in - a record-breaking year with several devastating hurricanes including Katrina, Rita and Wilma, whose names were all retired - when six names from the Greek alphabet were used.

The second was in - a new-record breaking year with 30 named tropical storms of which nine names from the Greek alphabet, including the devastating hurricanes Eta and Iota. Starting , in lieu of the Greek alphabet, the lists of supplemental tropical cyclones names will be used. A name can be retired or withdrawn from the active list at the request of any Member State if a tropical cyclone by that name acquires special notoriety because of the human casualties and damage incurred.

The decision to withdraw or retire a name is reached by consensus or majority vote during the WMO Regional Association IV Hurricane Committee session that immediately follows the season in question. The WMO Regional Association IV Hurricane Committee annual session in discussed the use of the Greek alphabet for hurricane naming, and whether a Greek alphabet name should be retired as done for a regular name when it meets the criteria for retirement.

The Committee felt that the use of the Greek alphabet was not expected to be frequent enough to warrant any change in the existing naming procedure for the foreseeable future and therefore decided that the naming system would remain unchanged and that the Greek alphabet would continue to be used.