‘Gaston’ makes list of Hurricanes for 2022 Atlantic season

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Here are the 2022 hurricane names for both the Atlantic and the Eastern North-Pacific. Is your name or the name of a loved one listed this year? Find out. Plus, learn how hurricanes are named and see the interesting history behind naming storms.

Who Names Hurricanes?

Hurricane season officially begins on June 1 and ends on November 30 each year. The lists of hurricane names for each season are chosen by the World Meteorological Organization (not The Old Farmer’s Almanac). There are six lists of names for Atlantic and Pacific storms, which are cycled through every six years.

The lists have been maintained since 1953 (originally by the National Hurricane Center). For the 2022 hurricane season, the list of names from 2016 is being used again, so don’t be surprised if some sound familiar. Those that are not retired from the list this year will be used again in the 2028 season.

Note: The names of especially destructive hurricanes are usually retired and not used again. See a list of retired tropical storm and hurricane names here.

Hurricane Names for the 2022 Hurricane Season

The lists below include storms in both the Atlantic Basin (Gulf and East Coast hurricanes) and Eastern North-Pacific (Pacific Island and West Coast hurricanes).

Note: Tropical storms are given names as soon as they display a rotating circulation pattern and wind speeds of 39 miles per hour (63 kilometers per hour). A tropical storm develops into a hurricane when wind speeds reach 74 mph (119 kph).

The traditional names listed above are in alphabetical order as the storms occur. In other words, the first storm of the season will be given the first name on the list (starting with the letter A), the next will be given the name starting with B, and so on. An average year, based on 1991 to 2020 data, will result in 14 named storms, including seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

Hurricane Names for the 2022 Hurricane Season

Atlantic Tropical (and Subtropical) Storm Names for 2022
Alex Hermine Owen
Bonnie Idalia Phillippe
Colin Jose Rina
Danielle Karl Shary
Earl Lisa Tammy
Fiona Martin Virginie
Gaston Nicole Walter
Eastern North-Pacific Tropical (and Subtropical) Storm Names for 2022
Agatha Ivette Roslyn
Blas Javier Seymour
Celia Kay Tina
Darby Lester Virgil
Estelle Madeline Winifred
Frank Newton Xavier
Georgette Orlene Yolanda
Howard Paine Zeke

What Happens If We Run Out of Names?

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record—we ran through the entire alphabetical list of names (and then some)! This happens very rarely (it has only happened once before, in 2005), but seems likely to become more common. What happens when it does?

If more storms occur in one season than there are names on the list, the newest storms have traditionally been named after the Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, etc.). However, starting in 2021, this was no longer the case. Instead of the Greek alphabet, a list of supplemental names is used. Like names from the regular annual lists, supplemental names can be retired and replaced if the storms are deemed to be significantly impactful.

The WMO decided to discontinue use of the Greek alphabet for several reasons, including:

  • Using the Greek names was such a rare occurrence that it distracted from more important news about the hurricanes themselves.
  • When translated into different languages of the region, the Greek names led to confusion and inconsistencies.
  • The names Eta and Iota were retired after the 2020 season and there had not been a plan for replacing retired Greek names.

So, any extra storms will now be named from the supplemental names lists shown below.

Supplemental Hurricane Names

Atlantic Storm Names
Adria Heath Orlanda
Braylen Isla Pax
Caridad Jacobus Ronin
Deshawn Kenzie Sophie
Emery Lucio Tayshaun
Foster Makayla Viviana
Gemma Nolan Will
Eastern North-Pacific Storm Names
Aidan Izzy Rey
Bruna Jacinta Skylar
Carmelo Kenito Teo
Daniella Luna Violeta
Esteban Marina Wilfredo
Flor Nancy Xinia
Gerardo Ovidio Yariel
Hedda Pia Zoe

The History of Naming Hurricanes

  • Native Americans called these destructive storms hurakons, after “a great spirit who commanded the east wind.” Spanish explorers adopted the word and then began giving hurricanes the names of patron saints on whose feast days the storms occurred. Later, hurricanes were identified by their longitude and latitude.
  • In 1950, a formal practice for storm naming was developed by the U.S. National Hurricane Center. 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.
  • In 1953, to avoid the repetitive use of names, the system was revised so that storms would be given female names. This mimicked the habits of old naval meteorologists, who named the storms after their wife or girlfriend, much the way ships at sea were named after women. A weatherman in Australia is credited with being the first person to give a tropical storm a female name.
  • In 1979, the system was revised again to include both female and male names.

Today, naming hurricanes is the responsibility of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which revises the lists each year. However, the WMO doesn’t only name hurricanes that occur off the shores of North America; they maintain lists for all areas affected by tropical cyclones. See hurricane names for other regions here.

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4 COMMENTS

  1. There was a Category One Hurricane Gaston in 2004,it made landfall in South Carolina. So why are you Editors of Antigua News Room pushing this crap.I have a name for a Hurricane:SIGNATURE FORGED BY CUSTOMS BROKER.

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