Here are all the names of the Atlantic storms

On By Vaseline

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Alberto, Beryl and Chris top the list of storm names for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially kicks off on June 1.

A tropical storm is named when its sustained winds reach a speed of 62 km/h; it becomes a hurricane when the wind reaches a speed of 120 km/h.

A typical Atlantic hurricane season averages fourteen tropical storms, seven of which become hurricanes, based on weather data dating from 1991 to 2020.

Forecasters are predicting a bumper season, with as many as 33 possible storms, hurricane experts at the University of Pennsylvania said in a forecast released earlier this month.

Here is the list of names for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season:

The names are given in alphabetical order and each new storm is given the next name on the list. There are no Q, U, X, Y, or Z names due to the lack of usable names starting with those letters.

Here’s how to pronounce all the 2024 hurricane names.

  • Alberto
  • Beryl
  • Chris
  • Debby
  • Ernesto
  • Francine
  • Gordon
  • Helene
  • Isaac
  • Joyce
  • Kirk
  • Leslie
  • Milton
  • Nadine
  • Oscar
  • Patty
  • Raphael
  • Sara
  • Show
  • Valerie
  • William

If all 21 names are used this year, there will be an additional list of 21 names that will be used after William. Here’s that list, from the World Meteorological Organization:

  • Adria
  • Braylen
  • Caridad
  • Deshawn
  • Emery
  • To feed
  • Gemma
  • Heather
  • Isla
  • James
  • Kenzie
  • Lucio
  • Makayla
  • Nolan
  • Orlando
  • Pax
  • Ronin
  • Sophie
  • Tayshaun
  • Viviana
  • Shall

Why – and how – are hurricanes given names?

Before hurricane forecasters started naming storms, they had to refer to storms by saying something like “the storm 500 miles east-southeast of Miami.” But six hours later the storm’s position would change.

And if there was more than one storm going on at the same time, making it clear which storm was being described made the job even more difficult.

In 1953, the US began using feminine names for hurricanes. In 1979, male and female names were used. The names alternate male and female.

Hurricane Names in the Eastern Pacific Ocean

There is a separate list for tropical storms and hurricanes that form in the eastern Pacific Ocean:

  • Aletta
  • Knob
  • Carlotta
  • Daniel
  • Emilia
  • Fabio
  • Gilma
  • Hector
  • Ileana
  • John
  • Kristy
  • Roadway
  • Miriam
  • Norman
  • Olivia
  • Paul
  • Rosa
  • Sergio
  • Tara
  • Vicente
  • Willa
  • Xavier
  • Jolanda
  • Zeke

Hurricanes in the Eastern Pacific rarely have any direct impact on the US, although Hilary did wreak havoc in parts of California and the Southwest last year. The Eastern Pacific season starts on May 15, more than two weeks earlier than the Atlantic season.

There is a separate list of names for central Pacific hurricanes, which can occasionally strike Hawaii. In addition, there are separate lists for typhoons in the western Pacific Ocean and tropical cyclones in Australia and the Indian Ocean.