ICYMI: 2017 Hurricane Names

The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season is almost here. That means there’s a whole new slate of names on deck to cover any storms that may develop.

Since 1953, tropical cyclones that develop in the Atlantic have been named by the National Hurricane Center. The name lists are maintained and developed by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization, according to the hurricane center.

The lists, generally published a few years in advance, include names in alphabetical order covering the letters A through W.

While last year’s hurricane season started out with a bang courtesy of two named storms that developed before the season’s official start on June 1, the tropics have been relatively quiet so far in 2017. Should that change as the year progresses, the following names will be used for storms that develop:

• Arlene
• Bret
• Cindy
• Don
• Emily
• Franklin
• Gert
• Harvey
• Irma
• Jose
• Katia
• Lee
• Maria
• Nate
• Ophelia
• Philippe
• Rina
• Sean
• Tammy
• Vince
• Whitney

The name Matthew has been officially retired from use by the Hurricane Center after last year’s storm wreaked havoc across the Caribbean and up the eastern seaboard of the United States. Matthew left 1.1 million without power after a day of running up the Florida coastline, toppling trees and large roadside signs and turning coastal roadways into rivers. At least five Floridians died during the storm.

The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season runs June 1 through Nov. 30.

To find out more about storm names, visit the National Hurricane Center online.

Photo from the National Weather Service's Facebook page