(PCM) Hurricanes have been a very dangerous and destructive weather phenomenon that have affected our planet for centuries. Most of them have been named by the World Meteorological Organization and the National Weather service to avoid confusion between storms and make the lines of communication a bit easier. By naming the storms meteorologists are able to easily identify the storms and track their movements across the oceans. Many times there are multiple storms occurring at the same time, so naming them helps to avoid any confusion that could occur when meteorologists are making reference to the various storms and their strengths.
Since 1979, the World Meteorological Organization has used six lists of names which are both male and female in rotation. Each list contains a name for each letter of the alphabet, except for Q, U and Z. The same lists are reused every six years. However and odd fact is that prior to 1978, the National Weather Service only used female names for hurricanes because they were viewed by the all male staff as most appropriate for the unpredictable and dangerous storms.
That would change for obvious reasons and now both female and male names are used respectively to name each hurricane or tropical storm. While most of the time we don’t pay much attention to the names of the many, many storms that brew throughout the world, however there are some that have been so very destructive that their names will be forever ingrained in our minds as a reminder of the devastation they left in their wake. One that come to mind immediately is Hurricane Katrina, which ripped through the Gulf Coast region and literally demolished areas in Louisiana and Mississippi. Another was Hurricanes Andrew and Hugo which tore though areas in Southern Florida leaving them in a state of utter catastrophe. In more recent years we have just dealt with the devastation from both Hurricane Harvey which unleashed horrific flooding in southeastern Texas and Hurricane Irma which demolished many of the Caribbean Islands and much of Puerto Rico and the Florida Keys.
When a individual hurricane causes that much destruction and devastation to an area, that particular Hurricane name is then retired from use, as it would be in poor taste to use it again as a terrible reminder to those who were affected during these particularly horrific storms. Each hurricane season can vary in intensity with some years being way worse than others when it comes to the frequency and strength of these storms. While hurricane’s can pop up at any time if the weather conditions are right, the most common time for hurricanes to occur is between June 1 and November 30 in the Atlantic Ocean and between May 15 and November 30 in the Pacific Ocean.
Warm water is a key factor in the formation of a strong hurricane, as well as, big temperature differences between the surface and the upper atmosphere. It is due to these factors that some years are worse than others when it comes to the power of certain hurricanes. Hurricanes are incredibly unpredictable which makes them incredibly complicated to study and gain a complete and total understanding.
Atlantic Names
2017 Names: Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Don, Emily, Franklin, Gert, Harvey, Irma, Jose, Katia, Lee, Maria, Nate, Ophelia, Philippe, Rina, Sean, Tammy, Vince, Whitney 2018 Names: Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sara, Tony, Valerie, William
2019 Names: Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dorian, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Imelda, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van, Wendy
2020 Names: Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo, Hanna, Isaias, Josephine, Kyle, Laura, Marco, Nana, Omar, Paulette, Rene, Sally, Teddy, Vicky, Wilfred
2021 Names: Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Elsa, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Julian, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor, Wanda
2022 Names: Alex, Bonnie, Colin, Danielle, Earl, Fiona, Gaston, Hermine, Ian, Julia, Karl, Lisa, Martin, Nicole, Owen, Paula, Richard, Shary, Tobias, Virginie, Walter
Eastern Pacific Names
2017 Names: Adrian, Beatriz, Calvin, Dora, Eugene, Fernanda, Greg, Hilary, Irwin, Jova, Kenneth, Lidia, Max, Norma, Otis, Pilar, Ramon, Selma, Todd, Veronica, Wiley, Xina, York, Zelda
2018 Names: Aletta, Bud, Carlotta, Daniel, Emilia, Fabio, Gilma, Hector, Ileana, John, Kristy, Lane, Miriam, Norman, Olivia, Paul, Rosa, Sergio, Tara, Vicente, Willa, Xavier, Yolanda, Zeke
2019 Names: Alvin, Barbara, Cosme, Dalila, Erick, Flossie, Gil, Henriette, Ivo, Juliette, Kiko, Lorena, Mario, Narda, Octave, Priscilla, Raymond, Sonia, Tico, Velma, Wallis, Xina, York, Zelda
2020 Names: Amanda, Boris, Cristina, Douglas, Elida, Fausto, Genevieve, Hernan, Iselle, Julio, Karina, Lowell, Marie, Norbert, Odalys, Polo, Rachel, Simon, Trudy, Vance, Winnie, Xavier, Yolanda, Zeke
2021 Names: Andres, Blanca, Carlos, Dolores, Enrique, Felicia, Guillermo, Hilda, Ignacio, Jimena, Kevin, Linda, Marty, Nora, Olaf, Pamela, Rick, Sandra, Terry, Vivian, Waldo, Xina, York, Zelda
2022 Names: Agatha, Blas, Celia, Darby, Estelle, Frank, Georgette, Howard, Ivette, Javier, Kay, Lester, Madeline, Newton, Orlene, Paine Roslyn, Seymour, Tina, Virgil, Winifred, Xavier, Yolanda, Zeke
