How do hurricanes get named and why?

Hurricanes, like other tropical storms, are named so that people can more easily communicate about them and stay informed about any potential impacts. The practice of naming hurricanes dates back to the early 1950s, when meteorologists began using women's names to identify storms in the Atlantic basin. In the late 1970s, this practice was expanded to include men's names as well.

Today, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is responsible for naming hurricanes and other tropical storms. The WMO maintains six lists of names, which are rotated every six years. The names are chosen to reflect the cultures of the regions that are affected by hurricanes, and they are chosen in advance so that there is no confusion or overlap when storms occur simultaneously.

If a hurricane is particularly deadly or costly, its name may be retired and replaced with a new name. This is done to avoid any negative associations with the storm and to make it easier for people to distinguish between different storms in the future. The WMO has a strict set of criteria for retiring a name, including the number of deaths and the amount of damage caused by the storm.