How Are Hurricanes Named?

8/10/2021 (Permalink)

The name "Sally" was retired in 2020, after Hurricane Sally devastated Gulf Shores, AL.

Hundreds of years ago, in the early days of weather forecasting, many hurricanes were named after saints.  As years passed, a hurricane would hit on the same saint's day as a previous hurricane.  For example, San Felipe (the first) and San Felipe (the second) struck Puerto Rico on September 13, 1876, and 1928.  Hurricane season hits its peak between mid-August and mid-October of each year, so this naming process could get very confusing, very quickly!  During active seasons, there could be several tropical storms or hurricanes forming in the Atlantic at the same time.  The United States began giving short names to hurricanes in 1953.  These names were exclusively female until 1978 when male names were finally added into the rotation.  The World Meteorological Organization maintains the list of hurricane names.

Ever thought you've heard a storm name from the past?  You probably have!  The official storm name list rotates and recycles itself every six years.  Every name doesn't recycle, however.  Hurricanes that were very costly or devastating have their names retired for sensitivity.  No one would want another Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Betsy!

The 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season will begin a new naming tradition.  Last year's season was so extremely active, more than 21 named storms occurred, so once the main list of names was used, meteorologists shifted to the Greek alphabet, as in years past.  But 2020 Greek-named storms contained two monsters whose names were retired -- Eta and Iota.  Because of this, the World Meteorological Organization produced an alternate list of names to back up the main list of storm names.

It's always fun to look at the list and see if any of the names correspond with yourself or your friends and family, but as a rule, hurricanes are extremely strong storms that can wreak havoc once they make landfall.  SERVPRO of Saline County and SERVPRO of Hot Springs stay alert during hurricane season and can assemble a traveling storm team at a moment's notice to help those affected by the devastation.

We're always here to help.