How the naming game works for hurricanes

The Beaumont Enterprise

Who will visit the Gulf of Mexico this year? Rafael? Helene? Beryl?

One thing is certain, it won't be Rita or Katrina.

Every year since 1953, before the hurricane season starts, the National Hurricane Center develops a list of names for tropical storms and hurricanes. At first, they were only female names; since 1979, they alternate between male and female.

Hurricanes are named alphabetically from the list in chronological order. Thus the first tropical storm or hurricane of the year has a name that begins with "A" and the second is given the name that begins with "B." The lists contain names that begin from A to W, but exclude names that begin with a "Q" or "U."

Six different lists recycle every six years. The only time NHC's names change is if a storm is so deadly or costly that re-using its name would be insensitive, such as Rita or Katrina. A record five storm names were retired in 2005.

2006 names

Alberto
Beryl
Chris
Debby
Ernesto
Florence
Gordon
Helene
Isaac
Joyce
Kirk
Leslie
Michael
Nadine
Oscar
Patty
Rafael
Sandy
Tony
Valerie
William

If those 21 names are exhausted, then storms in the Atlantic basin will take names from the : Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, etc.

Retired names

1954: Carol, Hazel
1955: Connie, Diane, Ione, Janet
1957: Audrey
1960: Donna
1961: Carla, Hattie
1963: Flora
1964: Cleo, Dora, Hilda
1965: Betsy
1966: Inez
1967: Beulah
1968: Edna
1969: Camille
1970: Celia
1972: Agnes
1974: Carmen, Fifi
1975: Eloise
1977: Anita
1979: David, Frederic
1980: Allen
1983: Alicia
1985: Elena Gloria
1988: Gilbert, Joan
1989: Hugo
1990: Diana, Klaus
1991: Bob
1992: Andrew
1995: Luis, Marilyn, Opal, Roxanne
1996: Cesar, Fran, Hortense
1998: Georges, Mitch
1999: Floyd, Lenny
2000: Keith
2001: Allison, Iris, Michelle
2002: Isidore, Lili
2003: Fabian, Isabel, Juan
2004: Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne
2005: Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Stan, Wilma