Why Idalia? Here's how hurricanes get their names

Scott Stump

They are names that are instantly recognizable to those who lived through their destruction.

Katrina. Sandy. Maria. Ian.

The latest hurricane, Idalia, made landfall on the west coast of Florida on Aug. 30 as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour.

So where do these hurricane names come from and who decides on them? Here's what to know.

Why are hurricanes named?

“It has everything to do with ease of communication,” hurricane specialist and senior research associate at the University of Miami Brian McNoldy tells TODAY.com. "It's meant to make communicating about them straightforward for the average person."

The alternative is "to have numbers floating out there about a storm that's located so and so miles East of here," McNoldy says. That would leave people with "no real convenient way to talk about the storm."

It's a lot easier to talk about Hurricane Idalia than, say, something like "Tropical Cyclone 51.3.35.7" when trying to coordinate during the storm or prepare for its approach.

Using a distinct name also avoids confusion when there's multiple hurricanes in existence at once. A perfect example is that in addition to Idalia, Hurricane Franklin is currently off the coast of Bermuda right now, where a tropical storm watch is in effect, according to the NHC.

Creating the distinctive names means people in an area where one hurricane is about to hit don't get confused by warnings about a separate area where a different hurricane may make landfall.

How are hurricanes named?

An international committee of the World Meteorological Organization uses a list of different names every year for six years to name Atlantic storms and hurricanes, with one list repeated every sixth year, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The NHC has published the alphabetical lists of names that will be used to name hurricanes from 2023 through 2028. There are also lists for Pacific hurricanes.

Each year, the first hurricane of the season is named with an “A” name and it goes from there. Not all letters of the alphabet are represented. For example, there are no “Q”-named storms on the lists for the current six-year cycle.

When and why do names get retired?

There are dozens of storm names that have been retired. When a hurricane causes loss of life or catastrophic damage, its name will not be reused.

For instance, there will never be another Hurricane Katrina after the original one devastated New Orleans in 2005. The reasoning is because it would be inappropriate and retraumatize people who lived through the original one.

There are retired hurricane names going back to 1954, when Carol, Hazel and Edna were removed from the list.

A committee at the annual meeting of the World Meteorological Organization decides on whether a name is taken off the list and replaced due to issues of sensitivity.

McNoldy says it’s a “completely subjective process,” and “there are no requirements for how many people have to die or economic loss."

The committee meets the spring following each hurricane season. It will determine which 2023 hurricane names, if any, will be retired in 2024.

What is the history of "I"-named hurricanes before Idalia?

It's not too positive. Fourteen storms named with the letter "I" have been retired since 1955 due to widespread destruction, according to the alphabetical list maintained by the NHC.

That is the highest amount of storms with names that have been retired of any letter.

Most recently, Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida as a Category 4 storm last year, causing extensive flooding and dozens of deaths.

In second place is 10 storms with an "F" name having been retired.

When did hurricanes start being named?

The practice dates back to as early as 1825 in the West Indies, according to the book "Hurricanes" by Ivan R. Tannehill that is cited by the NHC.

The modern practice began in 1953 when the United States started using female names for storms. The list of names was initially maintained by the NHC before becoming overseen by the World Meteorological Organization.

Hurricanes were only named after women until 1978 before the switch was made to add men's names starting in 1979.

What are the names of 2023's hurricanes?

  • Arlene

  • Bret

  • Cindy

  • Don

  • Emily

  • Franklin

  • Gert

  • Harold

  • Idalia

  • Jose

  • Katia

  • Lee

  • Margot

  • Nigel

  • Ophelia

  • Philippe

  • Rina

  • Sean

  • Tammy

  • Vince

  • Whitney

This article was originally published on TODAY.com

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