2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season: How storms are named, this year's list

Forecasters predicted 2-4 major Atlantic hurricanes for the U.S. in 2019. How are these and other storms named? You probably already know that hurricane names go in alphabetical order throughout the season, but it’s more structured than that.
The World Meteorological Organization, which is in charge of assigning names to hurricanes and tropical storms, has six lists that they cycle through. (In other words, they are currently using non-retired names that were also used in both 2013 and 2005.) They’ve been using this system since 1953.

RELATED: 2019 hurricane season forecast from AccuWeather

The WMO looks for short, distinctive names when choosing new ones for their lists. A new one must be chosen if a name is “retired” — that is, if a storm is so destructive or deadly that it would be insensitive to continue to use the name. Two 2018 storms — Florence and Michael — caused their names to be retired. Their replacements, Francine and Milton, were added to the 2024 season list.

There are more rules in the name choosing process. For example, only 21 letters of the English alphabet are in use, so none of the names start with less common letters like Q.

Here’s the list of names for storms in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and the North Atlantic.

“A” names
Andrea (2019)
Arthur (2020)
Ana (2021)
Alex (2022)
Arlene (2023)
Alberto (2024)

“B” names
Barry (2019)
Bertha (2020)
Bill (2021)
Bonnie (2022)
Bret (2023)
Beryl (2024)

“C” names
Chantal (2019)
Cristobal (2020)
Claudette (2021)
Colin (2022)
Cindy (2023)
Chris (2024)

“D” names
Dorian (2019)
Dolly (2020)
Danny (2021)
Danielle (2022)
Don (2023)
Debby (2024)

“E” names
Erin (2019)
Edouard (2020)
Elsa (2021)
Earl (2022)
Emily (2023)
Ernesto (2024)

“F” names
Fernand (2019)
Fay (2020)
Fred (2021)
Fiona (2022)
Franklin (2023)
Francine (2024)

“G” names

Gabrielle (2019)
Gonzalo (2020)
Grace (2021)
Gaston (2022)
Gert (2023)
Gordon (2024)

“H” names
Humberto (2019)
Hanna (2020)
Henri (2021)
Hermine (2022)
Harold (2023)
Helene (2024)

“I” names
Imelda (2019)
Isaias (2020)
Ida (2021)
Ian (2022)
Idalia (2023)
Isaac (2024)

“J” names
Jerry (2019)
Josephine (2020)
Julian (2021)
Julia (2022)
Jose (2023)
Joyce (2024)

“K” names
Karen (2019)
Kyle (2020)
Kate (2021)
Karl (2022)
Katia (2023)
Kirk (2024)

“L” names
Lorenzo (2019)
Laura (2020)
Larry (2021)
Lisa (2022)
Lee (2023)
Leslie (2024)

“M” names
Melissa (2019)
Marco (2020)
Mindy (2021)
Martin (2022)
Margot (2023)
Milton (2024)

“N” names

Nestor (2019)
Nana (2020)
Nicholas (2021)
Nicole(2022)
Nigel (2023)
Nadine (2024)

“O” names
Olga (2019)
Omar (2020)
Odette (2021)
Owen (2022)
Ophelia (2023)
Oscar (2024)

“P” names
Pablo (2019)
Paulette (2020)
Peter (2021)
Paula (2022)
Philippe (2023)
Patty (2024)

“R” names
Rebekah (2019)
Rene (2020)
Rose (2021)
Richard (2022)
Rina (2023)
Rafael (2024)

“S” names
Sebastien (2019)
Sally (2020)
Sam (2021)
Shary (2022)
Sean (2023)
Sara (2024)

“T” names
Tanya (2019)
Teddy (2020)
Teresa (2021)
Tobias (2022)
Tammy (2023)
Tony (2024)

“V” names
Van (2019)
Vicky (2020)
Victor (2021)
Virginie (2022)
Vince (2023)
Valerie (2024)

“W” names
Wendy (2019)
Wilfred (2020)
Wanda (2021)
Walter (2022)
Whitney (2023)
William (2024)