Tropical Storm and Hurricane Names

Hurricane Katrina: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico approaching the coast. NOAA Image.

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 reaches 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 2012 through 2022 are shown in the tables on this page.

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 that year's list. The second storm is given the name that begins with a "B." Naming progresses through the year with names assigned in alphabetical order.

Tropical Storm Name Lists are Recycled

In the tables on this page, you can see that the name list from 2014 is identical to the list that will be used in 2020. This shows how the name lists are recycled every six years.

However, if you compare the name list from 2015 to the 2021 name list, you will see that Erika and Joaquin were not reused in 2021. These two 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.