How They Are Named

differently in different parts of the world

Hurricane-like storms are called by different names in the different regions of the world. For example, the name "hurricane" is given to systems that develop over the Atlantic or the eastern Pacific Oceans. In the western North Pacific and Philippines, these systems are called "typhoons" while in the Indian and South Pacific Ocean, they are called "cyclones".

 

Since 1953, the National Hurricane Center has produced lists of names for hurricanes. As a tropical depression develops into a tropical storm, it is given the next available name on the list, which is prepared in alphabetical order and alternates from between male and female names. The list of storm names for 1994-1999 has been given below.

 

Storm Names for 1994-1999

1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Alberto	Allison	Arthur	Ana	Alex	Arlene
Beryl	Barry	Bertha	Bill	Bonnie	Bret
Chris	Chantal	Cesar	Claudette	Charley	Cindy
Debby	Dean	Dolly	Danny	Danielle	Dennis
Ernesto	Erin	Edouard	Erika	Earl	Emily
Florence	Felix	Fran	Fabian	Frances	Floyd
Gordon	Gabielle	Gustav	Grace	Georges	Gert
Helene	Humberto	Hortense	Henri	Hermine	Harvey
Isaac	Iris	Isidore	Isabel	Ivan	Irene
Joyce	Jerry	Josephine	Juan	Jeanne	Jose
Keith	Karen	Kyle	Kate	Karl	Katrina
Leslie	Luis	Lili	Larry	Lisa	Lenny
Michael	Marilyn	Marco	Mindy	Mitch	Maria
Nadine	Noel	Nana	Nicholas	Nicole	Nate
Oscar	Opal	Omar	Odette	Otto	Ophelia
Patty	Pablo	Paloma	Peter	Paula	Philippe
Rafael	Roxanne	Rene	Rose	Richard	Rita
Sandy	Sebastien	Sally	Sam	Shary	Stan
Tony	Tanya	Teddy	Teresa	Tomas	Tammy
Valerie	Van	Vicky	Victor	Virginie	Vince
William	Wendy	Wilfred	Wanda	Walter	Wilma

Hurricane Names for 2000

Alberto	Beryl	Chris
Debby	Ernesto	Florence
Gordon	Helene	Isaac
Joyce	Keith	Leslie
Michael	Nadine	Oscar
Patty	Rafael	Sandy
Tony	Valerie	William

 

 

The  Hurricane Hunters

 

 

Forecasters Retire Names of Worst Hurricanes

When a really great athlete decides to leave sports, his jersey or number is often retired. The largest and most destructive storm in the tropics - the hurricane - makes a similar farewell. Hurricane names can and do get retired, not to be reused for at least ten years, perhaps longer.

Hurricanes that cause severe damage or kill and injure many people are remembered for generations and some go into hurricane history, says the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The country most affected can request that the storm's name be removed from use to avoid confusion caused by a future storm having the same name.

When a storm name is retired from the Atlantic's list of names, member countries of the World Meteorological Organization from that region select a new name. For Atlantic storms the name can be either French, Spanish or English, reflecting the languages of potential victims.

A good example is Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Hugo roared across the northeast Caribbean devastating many of the small islands east of Puerto Rico. It then skimmed Puerto Rico before slamming into South Carolina. Hurricane Hugo caused more than $8 billion damage and killed 82 people. Most of the deaths occured on the tiny Caribbean islands. When the request was made to retire the name "Hugo" from the list of names, the "H" storm was replaced by the name "Humberto", a Spanish name. Humberto was used for the first time in 1995 - it became a hurricane in September with 105 mph winds. The storm stayed over the Atlantic, never threatening land.

The hurricane center says the "retirement rule" once had exceptions. Before 1979, when rotation of the permanent six-year storm list began, some storm names were simply not used anymore. In 1966, "Frieda" was replaced by "Fern" for no apparent reason.

Below is a list of deadly, costly and destructive storms whose names have been retired, guaranteeing them a place in hurricane history. This is not a complete list of deadly or destructive hurricanes since many such storms hit before 1950 when naming began.

Retired Names

Agnes 1972 Florida, Northeast U.S. Alicia 1983 North Texas

Allen 1980 Antilles, Mexico, South Texas Andrew 1992 Bahamas, South Florida, Louisiana

Anita 1977 Mexico Audrey 1957 Louisiana, North Texas Betsy 1965 Bahamas, Southeast Florida, Southeast Louisiana Beulah 1967 Antilles, Mexico, South Texas Bob 1991 North Carolina, Northeast U.S.

Camille 1969 Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama Carla 1961 Texas Carmen 1974 Mexico, central Louisiana

Carol* 1954 Northeast U.S. Celia 1970 South Texas

Cleo 1964 Lesser Antilles, Haiti, Cuba, Southeast Florida

Connie 1955 North Carolina David 1979 Lesser Antilles, Hispaniola, Florida, Eastern U.S.

Diana 1990 Mexico Diane 1955 Mid-Atlantic U.S., Northeast U.S. Donna 1960 Bahamas, Florida, Eastern U.S. Dora 1964 Northeast Florida Elena 1985 Mississippi, Alabama, Western Florida Eloise 1975 Antilles, Northwest Florida, Alabama Flora 1963 Haiti, Cuba

Frederic 1979 Alabama, Mississippi Gilbert 1988 Lesser Antilles, Jamaica, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico Gloria 1985 North Carolina, Northeast U.S. Hattie 1961 Belize,Guatemala Hazel 1954 Antilles, North and South Carolina Hilda 1964 Louisiana Hugo 1989 Antilles, South Carolina

Ione 1955 North Carolina Inez 1966 Lesser Antilles, Hispaniola, Cuba, Florida Keys, Mexico

Janet 1955 Lesser Antilles, Belize, Mexico

Joan 1988 Curacao, Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua [Crossed into the Pacific Ocean, becoming Miriam] Klaus 1990 Martinique

The name "Carol" was used again to denote a hurricane in the mid-Atlantic Ocean in 1965. However, because the name does not appear after that time, it is assumed that the name was retired retrospectively for the damages caused by the 1954 storm of the same name.

Courtesy:
By Chris Cappella, USA TODAY Information Network