Who names hurricanes? Meteorologists explain process, list of names years in the making

Hurricane Milton is raging through parts of Florida and is still set to continue its journey. But how did the hurricane get its name?

Here's what to know about the process of naming hurricanes throughout the year:

Who names hurricanes?

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has a rotating list of names for each Tropical Cyclone basin.

Before the system was developed, hurricanes were named arbitrarily – an Atlantic storm that ripped off the mast of a boat called the Antje became known as such, for example.

During World War II, the United States first named hurricanes by using radio code names for letters of the alphabet, like Able, Baker and Charlie. In 1953 the U.S. National Weather Service began identifying hurricanes by female names, according to Britannica.

Today, meteorologists use the system of alternating male and female storms, starting with A and moving down the alphabet. This was first used for Pacific storms in 1978 and for Atlantic storms in 1979, according to Brittanica.

The lists of names are recycled every six years, so the list used in 2024 was last used in 2018.

The only time the list changes is if the storm proves to be so deadly or costly that naming another storm would be inappropriate or insensitive, WMO reports. Some of these names include Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 , Sandy in 2012, Katrina in 2005 and more.

When is hurricane season?

Hurricane season runs from June 1 until Nov. 30, according to the National Hurricane Center. This year, hurricane season has brought several major storms including Tropical Storm Alberto and Hurricane Beryl.

When are hurricanes named?

There are many terms used to describe the severity of a storm as it's developing. Cyclones near Texas and Florida start their lives as "tropical storms," and if they grow strong enough, earn the label "hurricane."

Tropical storms are given names as soon as they display a rotating circulation pattern and wind speeds of 39 mph, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.

Then a tropical storm becomes a hurricane when wind speeds reach 74 mph.

Hurricane Milton or Hurricane Michael

This is the first year Hurricane Milton was on the list. The 2018 version of the list included Hurricane Michael which was retired following the 2018 season.

Like the successor, Hurricane Michael was a historic storm for Florida in October 2018. It was the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the Panhandle and the second to hit Florida since Hurricane Andrew struck Miami in 1992.

Are hurricanes named after real people?

The WMO states that no hurricane is named after any person nor any preference in alphabetical order.

“The tropical cyclone/hurricane names selected are those that are familiar to the people in each region. Obviously, the main purpose of naming a tropical cyclone/hurricane is basically for people easily to understand and remember the tropical cyclone/hurricane in a region, thus to facilitate tropical cyclone/hurricane disaster risk awareness, preparedness, management and reduction,” the website reads.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Who names hurricanes? Meteorologists explain process, list of names years in the making