Weather Encyclopedia

Hurricane Names

What's in a name? Naming of tropical storms and hurricanes has been going on for centuries. Hurricanes that swept through the Caribbean were often named for the saint's day on which they occurred.

Once a tropical disturbance intensifies to tropical storm strength, with wind speeds above 39 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) gives the tropical cyclone a name.

Prior to 1950, military weather forecasters assigned a number, not a name, to tropical storms. For example, the fifth tropical cyclone of the 1932 hurricane season was called "Hurricane Number 5." For a short time, the military phonetic alphabet, such as Able, Baker, and Charlie was used to assign names.

Beginning in 1953, tropical storms were assigned female names. Names were listed in alphabetical order, with the first tropical storm of the year given a name beginning with "A."

In 1978, both men's and women's names were included in the eastern North Pacific storm lists. In 1979, the list of names was expanded to include both male and female names in the Atlantic Basin.

Member nations of The World Meteorological Organization have since revised the list to include names common to English, Spanish, and French speaking peoples. The order of men and women alternates every year. For example, in 1995 the list began with Allison. In 1996, it began with Arthur.

There are six lists of tropical cyclone names, each composed of 23 names from A to W. The lists are used on a rotating basis. For instance, the 1997 set will be used again to name storms in the year 2003.

If a tropical storm forms in the Atlantic and crosses over to the Pacific, it will be given a new name.

Occasionally, a name is retired from the list when a particular tropical cyclone has caused many deaths or a tremendous amount of damage. Some retired names include Andrew, Bob, Camille, David, Elena, Frederic, Opal, Fran, and Hugo.