Naming Hurricanes
by Catherine

In the very beginning, scientists started naming hurricanes after saints when the hurricanes first appeared.  Later scientists named hurricanes according to latitude and longitude.  Next came letters of the phonetic alphabet.  A for Andrew, B for Baker, etc.  In 1953, the weather bureau began giving storms girls' names.  The names would start with the letter A for Abbie, B for Brittany, and so forth. 

Beginning in 1979, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the U. S. National Weather Service (NWS) changed to a list of names that included men's names.  After a severe storm, they would expire that name for the following ten years.  One question you might ask is "Who chooses the names?"  The countries that are affected by hurricanes choose the names.   The WMO Region 4 Committee approves those names.  That committee includes representatives of the affected countries. 

To see the current list of NORTHERN HEMISPHERE TROPICAL CYCLONE NAMES you can visit the NOAA site on the world wide web.