2020 storm names list nearly exhausted

2020 storm names list nearly exhausted
National Hurricane Center Five-day weather outlook depicting Tropical Storm Paulette and Tropical Storm Rene, both located over the central Atlantic Ocean.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — There are only four storm names remaining for the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season before forecasters have to implement the Greek Alphabet system.

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season has been forecasted to be “extremely active”, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In its revised forecast for the season last month, the agency predicted there will be 19 to 25 named storms in the season.

Of these, seven to 11 storms are predicted to become hurricanes, with three to six of those are forecasted to be major hurricanes of Category 3 or stronger.

Seventeen storms have already been named for the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season – which runs from June 1 to November 30.

An average season produces 12 named storms.

If more than 21 storms develop, the additional names are taken from the Greek alphabet.

This happened only once in recorded history when in 2005 – 28 storms required names.

The very first Tropical Storm Alpha formed in October 2005, during a devastating season that also brought Hurricane Katrina.

The NOAA has never forecasted up to 25 storms in a season.
The latest two tropical storms to be named are Paulette and Rene – with Rene being the earliest appearance of an R-named storm on record.
The remaining names are Sally, Teddy, Vicky and Wilfred before additional names can be taken from the Greek alphabet.

The 2019 season marked the fourth consecutive year of above-average activity in the basin and was tied with 1969 for the fourth most-active hurricane season on record, according to the weather agency.

Tropical Storm Arthur became the first named storm of 2020 on May 17, forming some two weeks before the formal start of a hurricane season.

About Sloan Smith

Sloan Smith is a senior digital reporter at Eyewitness News, covering a diverse range of beats, from politics and crime to environment and human interest. In 2018, Sloan received a nomination for the “Leslie Higgs Feature Writer of The Year Award” from The Bahamas Press Club for her work with Eyewitness News.

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