How are hurricane names chosen?  Did yours make the list?  Let's dive into why!

Why Do Hurricanes Have Names?

Have you ever noticed that hurricanes and tropical storms tend to have names?  Why is that?  According to the National Hurricane Center, the naming of these storms started decades ago, and the reason is the distinctive names make it easier for people to track the storms.

It's not uncommon to have 2 or more tropical storms happening simultaneously, so naming each storm makes it easier for people to keep track of which storm will impact them.

The use of easily remembered names greatly reduces confusion when two or more tropical storms occur at the same time. For example, one hurricane can be moving slowly westward in the Gulf of America, while at exactly the same time another hurricane can be moving rapidly northward along the Atlantic coast. In the past, confusion and false rumors have arisen when storm advisories broadcast from radio stations were mistaken for warnings concerning an entirely different storm located hundreds of miles away. (National Hurricane Center)

You can read more about hurricane and tropical storm names, here.

How Are Hurricane Names Chosen?

The National Hurricane Center says the official name lists originated in 1953.  These lists are still used to name different storms and are maintained by the World Meteorological Organization.  The lists are on a rotation and recycled every 6 years.

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However, the National Hurricane Center says that certain names will be retired if that storm turns out to be particularly notable, and they will pull the name for reasons of sensitivity.

The only time that there is a change in the list is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name for a different storm would be inappropriate for reasons of sensitivity. If that occurs, then at an annual meeting by the WMO committee (called primarily to discuss many other issues) the offending name is stricken from the list and another name is selected to replace it. Several names have been retired since the lists were created. Here is more information on the history of naming tropical cyclones and retired names.

The 2025 Hurricane Names

Will this year be the year you have a hurricane named after you?  Okay, not technically named "after" you, but it is kind of neat to see a hurricane have share your name. This is the first time I've actually paid attention to the hurricane list, and it turns out we could potentially see a Hurricane Melissa this year.  I just hope Hurricane Melissa (if it gets to that) is gentle and doesn't cause too much of a problem for people, I can't handle that kind of reputation.  Check out the full list of hurricane names below!