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Blog: Naming your storm
03 Oct 2008 06:19:39 GMT
 Source: IRIN

Background

•  Hurricanes and cyclones

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NAIROBI, 2 October 2008 (IRIN) - Ever wondered how hurricanes are named?

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms,  for example,  have been named from lists originated by the NHC. They are now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization.

The original name lists featured only women's names. In 1979, men's names were introduced and they alternate with women's names. Six lists are used in rotation. Thus, the 2008 list will be used again in 2014. Here is more information about the history of naming hurricanes.

The only time there is a change in the list is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for reasons of sensitivity. If that occurs, then at an annual meeting by the WMO committee (called primarily to discuss many other issues) the offending name is stricken from the list and another name is selected to replace it. Here is more information about retired hurricane names.

Click here for a detailed and in-depth guide on the naming of all tropical storms.  

ma/bp/mw

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