The practice of naming hurricanes solely after women came to an end in 1978 when men's and women's names were included in the Eastern North Pacific storm lists. How are hurricane names chosen? These lists skip the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z, rotate from year to year and alternate between male and female names. Storms are named as soon as the winds are 39 mph or more. They will be taken from the list in alphabetical order, but there are no storms that start with the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z. There have been six lists of names in use since 1979. Anonymous. 1 decade ago. After a confusing year of trying the Army/Navy phonetic alphabet in 1952, (Able, Barker, Charlie…) the U.S Weather Bureau decided to identify hurricanes with women’s names. The name selected comes from one of six rotating alphabetic lists of twenty-one names, that are maintained by the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) RA IV Hurricane Committee. For example, in the Eastern North Pacific, the first hurricanes in 2016, 2022, 2028 (into infinity and beyond) will always be named Agatha, unless she gets retired. The lists are recycled after six years, although the names of notable hurricanes are retired by the NHC on request. True story. Retired Hurricane Names Since 1954. For example, Florence and Michael were retired in 2018 , … An important thing to note is that weather events aren’t eligible for a name until they transform from a tropical depression into a tropical storm.. After the 1953 Atlantic hurricane season, public reception to the idea seemed favorable, so the same list was adopted for the next year with one change; Gilda for Gail. With only five names still available on the 2020 Atlantic list and peak season still several days away, forecasters may have to utilize names they haven't used since 2005 to … This has happened once in my lifetime (in 2005). The lists are in alphabetical order and alternate between male and female. What's in a name? Way back when, tropical storms were named after Catholic saints being honored on the day of the storm. Current List of Retired Atlantic Hurricane Names. After the last name on the list is used, the way that storms are named changes significantly. An Atlantic storm that ripped the mast off a boat named Antje became known as Antje's hurricane. May 23, 2019 - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts a near-normal 2019 hurricane season. The NHC does not control the naming of tropical storms. With the naming of Tropical Storm Vicky on Monday morning, this leaves only one name on the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season list -- Wilfred. This is because names beginning with those letters are never used either in … While names of hurricanes previously included names from A to Z (for example, hurricane names from 1958 included Udele, Virgy, Wilna, Xrae, Yurith and Zorna), current lists exclude Q, U, X, Y and Z because there are not enough names starting with these letters to include them, Feltgen said. Once they run out of the official designated names for hurricanes and tropical storms that season, then they restart using the Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, etc.). The team forecasts 13 named storms and five hurricanes. Old records have shown that hurricanes were named after a specific saint's day that occurred. Bad luck if your name begins with a Q, U, X, Y or Z though – you will never get a storm named after you. Navy and Air Force meteorologists began naming tropical systems after girlfriends and … The names are alphabetical, but no Q, U, X, Y, or Z names are used, leaving us with 21 names. The lists do change, however. In 1979, male and female names were included in lists for the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. I n the beginning, storms were given arbitrary names. In the active hurricane season of 2005, Greek letters began to be used to name tropical storms after the letters of the alphabet had been used. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – We’ve only got four names left unused (Sally, Teddy, Vicky and Wilfred) on the 2020 hurricane names list, and we are approaching the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane Season. Names alternate between female and male names alphabetically and are not named after any particular person. For example, in 1825, the hurricane that hit Puerto Rico was named after Saint Anne. World War II. Thankfully, before we went to print, we ran into a nine-year-old who, very politely we might add, asked how hurricanes are named and if one could be named after them. Google it and check it out...lots of male names out there that hurricanes have been named after. 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