- Some of the information in this article may be outdated.
Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes have been named since 1950, although Hurricane Alice in 1953, was the first storm to bear a human name. Although the storms were originally given female names, male names were introduced in 1979, the first being Bob.
The use of names was introduced, as experience showed that the use of short, distinctive given names in written as well as spoken communications, was both quicker and less subject to error than the older, more cumbersome latitude-longitude identification methods. These advantages are especially important in exchanging detailed storm information between hundreds of widely scattered stations, coastal bases, and ships at sea.[1]
At present, names are assigned by a committee of the World Meteorological Organization and rotate on a six-yearly basis. However, the names associated with infamous storms, which were costly in terms of damage or deaths, are retired from the list.[2]
Six-Year List of Names
The list below sets out the current names in use for the six-yearly rotation.[3]
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur | Ana | Alex | Arlene | Alberto | Andrea |
| Bertha | Bill | Bonnie | Bret | Beryl | Barry |
| Cristobal | Claudette | Colin | Cindy | Chris | Chantal |
| Dolly | Danny | Danielle | Don | Debby | Dorian |
| Edouard | Erika | Earl | Emily | Ernesto | Erin |
| Fay | Fred | Frances | Franklin | Florence | Fernand |
| Gustav | Grace | Gaston | Gert | Gordon | Gabielle |
| Hanna | Henri | Hermine | Harvey | Helene | Humberto |
| Ike | Ida | Igor | Irene | Isaac | Ingrid |
| Josephine | Joaquin | Julia | Jose | Joyce | Jerry |
| Kyle | Kate | Karl | Katia | Kirk | Karen |
| Laura | Larry | Lisa | Lee | Leslie | Lorenzo |
| Marco | Mindy | Matthew | Maria | Michael | Melissa |
| Nana | Nicholas | Nicole | Nate | Nadine | Nestor |
| Omar | Odette | Otto | Ophelia | Oscar | Olga |
| Paloma | Peter | Paula | Philippe | Patty | Pablo |
| Rene | Rose | Richard | Rina | Rafael | Rebekah |
| Sally | Sam | Shary | Sean | Sandy | Sebastien |
| Teddy | Teresa | Tomas | Tammy | Tony | Tanya |
| Vicky | Victor | Virginie | Vince | Valerie | Van |
| Wilfred | Wanda | Walter | Whitney | William | Wendy |
Retired Names
Although there have been instances of names being dropped from the list, for example "Fern" was substituted for "Frieda" in 1996, these days, the only time that there is a change is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for obvious reasons of sensitivity. If that occurs, then at an annual meeting by the committee (called primarily to discuss many other issues) the offending name is stricken from the list and another name is selected to replace it.[4]
The following is an alphabetical list of the retired hurricane names, together with the year in which they were retired.
- Agnes - 1972
- Alicia - 1983
- Allen - 1980
- Allison - 2001
- Andrew - 1992
- Anita - 1977
- Audrey - 1957
- Betsy - 1965
- Beulah - 1967
- Bob - 1991
- Camille - 1969
- Carla - 1961
- Carmen - 1974
- Carol - 1954
- Celia - 1970
- Cesar - 1996
- Charley - 2004
- Cleo - 1964
- Connie - 1955
- David - 1979
- Dean - 2007
- Dennis - 2005
- Diana - 1990
- Diane - 1955
- Donna - 1960
- Dora - 1964
- Edna - 1968
- Elena - 1985
- Eloise - 1975
- Fabian - 2003
- Felix - 2007
- Fifi - 1974
- Flora - 1963
- Floyd - 1999
- Fran - 1996
- Frances - 2004
- Frederic - 1979
- Georges - 1998
- Gilbert - 1988
- Gloria - 1985
- Hattie - 1961
- Hazel - 1954
- Hilda - 1964
- Hortense - 1996
- Hugo - 1989
- Inez - 1966
- Ione - 1955
- Iris - 2001
- Isabel - 2003
- Isidore - 2002
- Ivan - 2004
- Janet - 1955
- Jeanne - 2004
- Joan - 1988
- Juan - 2003
- Katrina - 2005
- Keith - 2000
- Klaus - 1990
- Lenny - 1999
- Lili - 2002
- Luis - 1995
- Marilyn - 1995
- Michelle - 2001
- Mitch - 1998
- Noel - 2007
- Opal - 1995
- Rita - 2005
- Roxanne - 1995
- Stan - 2005
- Wilma - 2005