2024 Atlantic Hurricane Names List
MIAMI, Florida - The Atlantic Hurricane names lists are used in rotation and re-cycled every six years. For example, the 2024 list will be used again in 2030.
Debby
Ernesto
Francine
Gordon
Helene
Isaac
Joyce
Kirk
Leslie
Milton
Nadine
Oscar
Patty
Rafael
Sara
Tony
Valerie
William
How Are Hurricanes Named?
During World War II, the practice of naming storms became widespread in weather map discussions among forecasters, especially Army and Navy meteorologists who plotted the movements of storms over the wide expanses of the Pacific Ocean.
In 1953, the United States abandoned a confusing two-year old plan to name storms by a phonetic alphabet (Able, Baker, Charlie) when a new, international phonetic alphabet was introduced. That year, the United States began using female names for storms.
The practice of naming hurricanes solely after women came to an end in 1978 when men’s and women’s names were included in the Eastern North Pacific storm lists.
In 1979, male and female names were included in lists for the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico where two male names were only used once and then retired, David and Frederic.
The hurricane names lists originated from NOAA's National Hurricane Center, but are now maintained and updated through a strict procedure by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization.
