How do hurricanes get named?

The Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1 and ends November 30. Here are the hurricane names for the 2017 season. read more

At that time, storms were named according to a phonetic alphabet (e.g., Able, Baker, Charlie) and the names used were the same for each hurricane season; in other words, the first hurricane of a season was always named “Able,” the second “Baker,” and so on. read more

"We had one lady asking us to name a hurricane after her ex-husband," Nullis said. As for Irma, this is the first year the name has been used for a hurricane. Irma took the place of Irene, a name that was retired from rotation at the request of the United States in 2012. read more

NOAA’s National Hurricane Center does not control the naming of tropical storms. Instead, there is a strict procedure established by the World Meteorological Organization. For Atlantic hurricanes, there is a list of male and female names which are used on a six-year rotation. read more