Wx Savvy | Hurricanes

How Are Hurricanes Named?

Naming of hurricanes actually started a long time ago when natives of the West Indies would name the storms after the particular Saint's Day on which the storm hit. Then, in 1953 the National Weather Service here in the US began using female names to help track and identify the hurricanes(1). In 1979 men's names were added to the list.

Since Atlantic hurricanes affect not just the US but also all the island nations in the Caribbean, it is the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) that creates the list of names. There are six alphabetical lists of names which are rotated through each six years. There are no names starting with Q,U and Z. Because the Caribbean is a mix of Spanish, French and English speaking nations, you'll find a variety of ethnic names.

If a hurricane is extremely costly or deadly, it might be retired. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 was retired. Andrew was a category 5 hurricane and the costliest natural disaster in US history (about $25 Billion). A new name is chosen and usually the country greatest affected will have the opportunity to choose a replacement name. Names are retired so that a future Hurricane Andrew is not confused with the disastrous one from 1992.

Click Here for Atlantic Hurricane Names.

(1) http://www.fema.gov/kids/hunames.htm