Hurricane season in the Atlantic officially begins on June 1, so it's a good time to become familiar with the names that will be used for this year's tropical systems. As we like to do, we'll also take a look back at the history of this year's names.
Without further ado, here's the list:
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Ana
Bill
Claudette
Danny
Erika
Fred
Grace
Henri
Ida
Joaquin
Kate
Larry
Mindy
Nicholas
Odette
Peter
Rose
Sam
Teresa
Victor
Wanda
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And now, some noteworthy items:
- In 2003, Tropical Storm Ana was an out-of-season storm. And by quite a lot. 2003's Ana had subtropical origins and formed in the central Atlantic in April. We would have been overjoyed had the recently-demised Tropical Depression One been able to earn a name, as it would have been the second time in a row that the name Ana was assigned to an out-of-season storm.
- The name "Bill" has been used twice previously, joining the list after the retirement of Hurricane Bob from 1991. Interestingly, all the Bob's were hurricanes (1979, 1985, 1991), and all made landfall in the U.S. (1979 in Louisiana, 1985 in the Carolinas, and 1991 in New England).
- Claudette, like Ana, is an original member of this list of names, having been used five times previously.
- Danny was the first replacement name to be added to this list, since Hurricane David was retired after 1979. "David" was also the first male name to be retired, since men's names were not used for tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic prior to 1979.
- In the El Nino-plagued year of 1997, Hurricane Erika was the only major hurricane of the season. In that year, there were only 8 named storms and 3 hurricanes. Erika joined the list following the retirement of Hurricane Elena after 1985.
- Fred is a new name to this list, since Fabian was retired after 2003. In 2003, Hurricane Fabian made a devastating direct hit on Bermuda as a Category 3 storm.
- The name "Grace" was first used in 1991 following the retirement of Hurricane Gloria in 1985. That year, Hurricane Grace played a seminal role in the development of the fabled "Perfect Storm".
- In 1979, Hurricane Henri formed in the Gulf of Mexico but did not make landfall as a tropical storm or hurricane. Henri weakened in the Bay of Campeche and arrived at the coast as a mere tropical depression.
- Ida is another new name this year, taking the place of Isabel. 2003's Hurricane Isabel was a picturesque Category 5 hurricane for a time in the Atlantic which eventually struck North Carolina at just under Category 3 intensity. Hurricane Isabel of 2003 was also the one and only time that the name Isabel had been used on a hurricane (the only other time the name had even been used at all was in 1985 for a tropical storm).
- The final new addition to this year's list of names is Joaquin, which replaces Juan. Hurricane Juan struck Nova Scotia as a Category 2 hurricane in 2003, one of the strongest on record for Atlantic Canada. The only other occasion where the name Juan was used was in the busy 1985 season, when Hurricane Juan affected the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts.
- Kate is an original member of this list but has only been used twice before: in both cases, 1985 and 2003, as Hurricane Kate. Hurricane Kate in 1985 became one of the strongest November hurricanes on record and went on to strike the Florida Panhandle as a Category 2 storm.
- Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, and Peter were all used for the first time in 2003. That year, all were tropical storms. Odette and Peter formed in December, after the official end of the season on November 30.
- The remaining names on the list (Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor, and Wanda) have not been used at all since this list first went into service in 1979.
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