Each year, the World Meteorological Organization creates a list of official names for major storms in the both Northern Pacific and Atlantic oceans. There are six lists of names that have been developed which are rotated into use. Names are only removed from the list when the storm becomes strong enough to create substantial damage as a hurricane.
Storms during a hurricane seasons are named in alphabetical order as they develop. The names alternate between male and female names starting with the letter A. Letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z are not used. When a hurricane’s name is retired such as Katrina, that name is permanently removed from rotation and a new name starting with the same letter is added to the list. Hurricane season begins on June 1 in the Atlantic Ocean and continues through to November 30. This year, the first named storm, Arthur, was announced on May 17, 2020
2020 List of Hurricane Names
- Arthur
- Bertha
- Cristobal
- Dolly
- Edouard
- Fay
- Gonzalo
- Hanna
- Isaias
- Josephine
- Kyle
- Laura
- Marco
- Nana
- Omar
- Paulette
- Rene
- Sally
- Teddy
- Vicky
- Wilfred
What Happens if We Run Out of Hurricane Names in 2020?
If the number of named storms in the Atlantic Basins exceeds 21, then the naming conventions move to the Greek alphabet. Each subsequent named storm will be named in alphabetical order: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota,Kappa, Lambda, Mu, Nu, Xi, Omicron, Pi, Rho, Sigma, Tau, Upsilon, Phi, Chi, Psi, and Omega.
