X-PASTER
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 12, 2007
- 11,605
- 1,843
How are hurricanes named?
Lots of people think that hurricanes were always named after women - because of our volatile nature, no doubt - and that only recently did they start alternating between male and female names because of feminist outcry. Not true.
Prior to 1950 storms weren't officially named at all. From 1950 to 1952 they were named simply Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog, Easy, Fox, George...not very imaginative, but it sufficed. From 1953 to 1978 someone (my guess a man going through a nasty divorce) decided to use only female names. Finally, in 1979, they started alternating between male and female names.
Hurricanes are named alphabetically, years in advance and starting the alphabet over each year. (If you get a Hurricane Wilma, you know you have had a busy storm season!) The Atlantic and the Pacific have separate naming lists.
These are the names assigned to Atlantic storms for the 2011 Hurricane Season:
[TABLE="width: 80, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD]Arlene[/TD]
[TD]Harvey[/TD]
[TD]Ophelia[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bret[/TD]
[TD]Irene[/TD]
[TD]Philippe[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Cindy[/TD]
[TD]Jose[/TD]
[TD]Rina[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Don[/TD]
[TD]Katia[/TD]
[TD]Sean[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Emily[/TD]
[TD]Lee[/TD]
[TD]Tammy[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Franklin[/TD]
[TD]Maria[/TD]
[TD]Vince[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Gert[/TD]
[TD]Nate[/TD]
[TD]Whitney[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Retired Names - There are several lists of names that are rotated year after year, but when there is a particularly bad storm that has had a severe impact on the population they retire the name. Storms that have had their names retired are:
[TABLE="width: 90, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD][TABLE="class: grid, width: 459"]
[TR]
[TD]Agnes (1972)[/TD]
[TD]Cleo (1964)[/TD]
[TD]Frederic (1979)[/TD]
[TD]Joan (1988)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Alicia (1983)[/TD]
[TD]Connie (1955)[/TD]
[TD]Georges (1998)[/TD]
[TD]Juan (2003)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Allen (1980)[/TD]
[TD]David (1979)[/TD]
[TD]Gilbert (1988)[/TD]
[TD]Katrina (2005)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Allison (2001)[/TD]
[TD]Dennis (2005)[/TD]
[TD]Gloria (1985)[/TD]
[TD]Keith (2000)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Andrew (1992)[/TD]
[TD]Diana (1990)[/TD]
[TD]Hattie (1961)[/TD]
[TD]Klaus (1990)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Anita (1977)[/TD]
[TD]Diane (1955)[/TD]
[TD]Hazel (1954)[/TD]
[TD]Lenny (1999)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Audrey (1957)[/TD]
[TD]Donna (1960)[/TD]
[TD]Hilda (1964)[/TD]
[TD]Lili (2002)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Betsy (1965)[/TD]
[TD]Dora (1964)[/TD]
[TD]Hortense (1996)[/TD]
[TD]Luis (1995)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Beulah (1967)[/TD]
[TD]Edna (1968)[/TD]
[TD]Hugo (1989)[/TD]
[TD]Marilyn (1995)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bob (1991)[/TD]
[TD]Elena (1985)[/TD]
[TD]Inez (1966)[/TD]
[TD]Michelle (2001)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Camille (1969)[/TD]
[TD]Eloise (1975)[/TD]
[TD]Ione (1955)[/TD]
[TD]Mitch (1998)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Carla (1961)[/TD]
[TD]Fabian (2003)[/TD]
[TD]Iris (2001)[/TD]
[TD]Opal (1995)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Carmen (1974)[/TD]
[TD]Fifi (1974)[/TD]
[TD]Isabel (2003)[/TD]
[TD]Rita (2005)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Carol (1954)[/TD]
[TD]Flora (1963)[/TD]
[TD]Isidore (2002)[/TD]
[TD]Roxanne (1995)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Celia (1970)[/TD]
[TD]Floyd (1999)[/TD]
[TD]Ivan (2004)[/TD]
[TD]Stan (2005)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Cesar (1996)[/TD]
[TD]Fran (1996)[/TD]
[TD]Janet (1955)[/TD]
[TD]Wilma (2005)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Charley (2004)[/TD]
[TD]Frances (2004)[/TD]
[TD]Jeanne (2004)[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]