World Meteorological Organization Retires Four Hurricane Names
Alexis Thornton
2 days agoThe World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced recently that it is retiring the names Beryl, Helene, and John. Why are names routinely retired and what names are on deck? Read on for all of the details.
Four Names Retired by the WMO
The official start of the Atlantic Hurricane Season is June 1, and forecasters are already preparing. The WMO is retiring the names Beryl, Helene, and Milton from the potential Atlantic names while the name John is being retired from the list of possible storm designations in the Eastern Pacific.
John will be replaced by the name John in the Pacific while the names Brianna, Holly, and Miguel will be added to the rotating list in the Atlantic. Names for tropical storms and hurricanes coming to life in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific repeat every six years unless the decision is made to retire a storm name.
The WMO is the agency charged with overseeing the naming list. This agency also decides when a name should be retired in order to honor the victims and reduce the mental toll to those that were impacted by the events.
The WMO names storms in an effort to provide fast and efficient communication as tropical weather events come to life. Having a name to draw upon makes it easier to distinguish between multiple tropical weather events happening concurrently while also helping to get the word out to those in the path. It is easier for meteorologists to disseminate accurate information and avoid confusion when using a specific name rather than simple latitude and longitude coordinates.
The practice of naming storms dates back to 1950 when a phonetic alphabet was first used. Just a few years later, women's names were used to identify storms. Men's names were included in the naming process in 1979.
There have been 100 names that have been retired throughout history due to the severity of their impacts. Some of the most recognizable names that will never be used again include Katrina, Harvey, Michael, Ian, and Sandy.
Now let's take a look at why these four names were retired this year. Here is a snapshot of the damage incurred by each of these major tropical weather events.