Tropical Storm and Hurricane Names

2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

How Big of a Storm Gets a Name?

The World Meteorological Organization is in charge of assigning names to tropical storms that originate in the Atlantic Ocean and reach a sustained wind speed of 39 miles per hour. Any storm that reachs a sustained wind speed of 74 miles per hour is called a "hurricane".

When a storm becomes a hurricane it retains the name that it was given as a tropical storm. The World Meteorological Organization has six lists of storm names which are recycled every six years. The name lists for 2008 through 2017 are shown in the table below.

Tropical Storms are Named Alphabetically

The first tropical storm that attains a sustained wind speed of at least 39 miles per hour in a calendar year is given the name that begins with an "A" from the appropriate list above. The second storm is given the name that begins with a "B". Naming progresses through the year with names assigned in alphabetical order.

Names used for Atlantic Tropical Storms
2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Andrea	Arthur	Ana	Alex	Arlene
Barry	Bertha	Bill	Bonnie	Bret
Chantal	Cristobal	Claudette	Colin	Cindy
Dorian	Dolly	Danny	Danielle	Don
Erin	Edouard	Erika	Earl	Emily
Fernand	Fay	Fred	Fiona	Franklin
Gabrielle	Gonzalo	Grace	Gaston	Gert
Humberto	Hanna	Henri	Hermine	Harvey
Ingrid	Isaias	Ida	Ian	Irma
Jerry	Josephine	Joaquin	Julia	Jose
Karen	Kyle	Kate	Karl	Katia
Lorenzo	Laura	Larry	Lisa	Lee
Melissa	Marco	Mindy	Matthew	Maria
Nestor	Nana	Nicholas	Nicole	Nate
Olga	Omar	Odette	Otto	Ophelia
Pablo	Paulette	Peter	Paula	Philippe
Rebekah	Rene	Rose	Richard	Rina
Sebastien	Sally	Sam	Shary	Sean
Tanya	Teddy	Teresa	Tobias	Tammy
Van	Vicky	Victor	Virginie	Vince
Wendy	Wilfred	Wanda	Walter	Whitney

Tropical Storm Name Lists are Recycled

In the table above you can see that the name list from 2008 is identical to the list that will be used in 2014. This shows how the name lists are recycled every six years.

However, if you compare the name list from 2008 to the 2014 name list you will see that Gustav, Ike and Paloma were not reused in 2014. These three hurricanes were so deadly and damaging that the World Meteorological Organization decided that reuse of their names would be insensitive. Their names were permanently retired from use.

Tropical storms in other basins such as the eastern and western Pacific Ocean are also given names. Name lists for these tropical storms have been compiled by the National Hurricane Center and can be viewed on their website.

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Names used for Atlantic Tropical Storms in the Past
2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Arthur	Ana	Alex	Arlene	Alberto
Bertha	Bill	Bonnie	Bret	Beryl
Cristobal	Claudette	Colin	Cindy	Chris
Dolly	Danny	Danielle	Don	Debby
Edouard	Erika	Earl	Emily	Ernesto
Fay	Fred	Fiona	Franklin	Florence
Gustav	Grace	Gaston	Gert	Gordon
Hanna	Henri	Hermine	Harvey	Helene
Ike	Ida	Igor	Irene	Isaac
Josephine	Joaquin	Julia	Jose	Joyce
Kyle	Kate	Karl	Katia	Kirk
Laura	Larry	Lisa	Lee	Leslie
Marco	Mindy	Matthew	Maria	Michael
Nana	Nicholas	Nicole	Nate	Nadine
Omar	Odette	Otto	Ophelia	Oscar
Paloma	Peter	Paula	Philippe	Patty
Rene	Rose	Richard	Rina	Rafael
Sally	Sam	Shary	Sean	Sandy
Teddy	Teresa	Tomas	Tammy	Tony
Vicky	Victor	Virginie	Vince	Valerie
Wilfred	Wanda	Walter	Whitney	William

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