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Hurricane Names List, How are Cyclones Named?

December 21, 2019

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Have you ever wondered how the tropical storm and hurricanes were named? Not to make this catastrophic storm feel friendly, that’s for sure. The storms have been named to make it easier to remember. But who exactly picks the names of the hurricanes?

Meteorological officials decided the names of the hurricanes years ago and re-used the same names every few years. CNBC looked at the history and practice of naming storms that swept across the Caribbean and devastated the country’s south and east coasts.

Contents hide

1 How are Hurricane Names Chosen

2 WMO Tropical Cyclone naming Worldwide

3 Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and the North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Names

3.1 Hurricane Names List 2020-

3.1.1 Hurricane Arthur

3.1.2 Hurricane Bertha

3.1.3 Hurricane Cristobal

3.1.4 Hurricane Dolly

3.1.5 Hurricane Edouard

3.1.6 Hurricane Fay

3.1.7 Hurricane Gonzalo

3.1.8 Hurricane Hanna

3.1.9 Hurricane Isaias

3.1.10 Hurricane Josephine

3.1.11 Hurricane Kyle

3.1.12 Hurricane Laura

3.1.13 Hurricane Marco

3.1.14 Hurricane Nana

3.1.15 Hurricane Omar

3.1.16 Hurricane Paulette

3.1.17 Hurricane Rene

3.1.18 Hurricane Sally

3.1.19 Hurricane Teddy

3.1.20 Hurricane Vicky

3.1.21 Hurricane Wilfred

3.2 Hurricane Names List 2021-

3.2.1 Hurricane Ana

3.2.2 Hurricane Bill

3.2.3 Hurricane Claudette

3.2.4 Hurricane Danny

3.2.5 Hurricane Elsa

3.2.6 Hurricane Fred

3.2.7 Hurricane Grace

3.2.8 Hurricane Henri

3.2.9 Hurricane Ida

3.2.10 Hurricane Julian

3.2.11 Hurricane Kate

3.2.12 Hurricane Larry

3.2.13 Hurricane Mindy

3.2.14 Hurricane Nicholas

3.2.15 Hurricane Odette

3.2.16 Hurricane Peter

3.2.17 Hurricane Rose

3.2.18 Hurricane Sam

3.2.19 Hurricane Teresa

3.2.20 Hurricane Victor

3.2.21 Hurricane Wanda

3.3 Hurricane Names List 2022-

3.3.1 Hurricane Alex

3.3.2 Hurricane Bonnie

3.3.3 Hurricane Colin

3.3.4 Hurricane Danielle

3.3.5 Hurricane Earl

3.3.6 Hurricane Fiona

3.3.7 Hurricane Gaston

3.3.8 Hurricane Hermine

3.3.9 Hurricane Ian

3.3.10 Hurricane Julia

3.3.11 Hurricane Karl

3.3.12 Hurricane Lisa

3.3.13 Hurricane Martin

3.3.14 Hurricane Nicole

3.3.15 Hurricane Owen

3.3.16 Hurricane Paula

3.3.17 Hurricane Richard

3.3.18 Hurricane Shary

3.3.19 Hurricane Tobias

3.3.20 Hurricane Virginie

3.3.21 Hurricane Walter

3.4 Hurricane Names List 2023-

3.4.1 Hurricane Arlene

3.4.2 Hurricane Bret

3.4.3 Hurricane Cindy

3.4.4 Hurricane Don

3.4.5 Hurricane Emily

3.4.6 Hurricane Franklin

3.4.7 Hurricane Gert

3.4.8 Hurricane Harold

3.4.9 Hurricane Idalia

3.4.10 Hurricane Jose

3.4.11 Hurricane Katia

3.4.12 Hurricane Lee

3.4.13 Hurricane Margot

3.4.14 Hurricane Nigel

3.4.15 Hurricane Ophelia

3.4.16 Hurricane Philippe

3.4.17 Hurricane Rina

3.4.18 Hurricane Sean

3.4.19 Hurricane Tammy

3.4.20 Hurricane Vince

3.4.21 Hurricane Whitney

3.5 Hurricane Names List 2024-

3.5.1 Hurricane Beryl

3.5.2 Hurricane Chris

3.5.3 Hurricane Debby

3.5.4 Hurricane Ernesto

3.5.5 Hurricane Francine

3.5.6 Hurricane Gordon

3.5.7 Hurricane Helene

3.5.8 Hurricane Isaac

3.5.9 Hurricane Joyce

3.5.10 Hurricane Kirk

3.5.11 Hurricane Leslie

3.5.12 Hurricane Milton

3.5.13 Hurricane Nadine

3.5.14 Hurricane Oscar

3.5.15 Hurricane Patty

3.5.16 Hurricane Rafael

3.5.17 Hurricane Sara

3.5.18 Hurricane Tony

3.5.19 Hurricane Valerie

3.5.20 Hurricane William.

3.6 2020 Storm Names for the North Atlantic and Caribbean

3.6.1 Hurricanes Bertha

3.6.2 hurricanes Beryl

3.6.3 hurricanes Cristobal

3.6.4 hurricanes Chris

3.6.5 hurricanes Dolly

3.6.6 hurricanes Debby

3.6.7 hurricanes Edouard

3.6.8 hurricanes Ernesto.

How are Hurricane Names Chosen

In the 1950s, meteorologists realized that keeping track of anonymous storms is difficult – especially if multiple storms occur at any one time. By 1953, meteorologists in the United States were using the name for tropical storms and cyclones.

A list of names was established by the World Meteorological Organization, a UN agency. WMO maintains a list of 21 names for each of the six years, which is repeated. In other words, the same list is used every 7 years. So within a decade, you could hit two stormy countries of the same name.

Alternate names between males and females are on the list each year: That way, never have two storms on the 1 year of the same gender.

Only after the list was changed did the storm become so expensive or severe that the WMO found that it would be inappropriate to use the name again. We will no longer have Hurricanes Katrina, for example, or any other Hurricane Sandy.

The World Meteorological Agency for developing the names of both the North Pacific and Atlantic storms uses six lists of names for storms in the Atlantic Ocean and the Eastern North Pacific. These lists rotate, every year.

In addition, the names chosen by the regional tropical cyclone authorities reflect the names in that area.

WMO Tropical Cyclone naming Worldwide

World Meteorological Organization WMO maintains a rotating list of names suitable for each tropical cyclone basin. If a cyclone is particularly severe or expensive, its name is retired and replaced by another. Twenty-one named tropical cyclones occur in the Atlantic Basin during one season, and additional storms will be named from the Greek alphabet.