Atlantic Hurricane Season: 21 Names Given to Upcoming Tropical Systems

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The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June 1 through November 30 each year. Tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic Ocean are called hurricanes, tropical storms, or tropical depressions. In addition, there have been several storms in history that have not been fully tropical and are referred to as subtropical storms or subtropical depressions, meaning they aren’t as damaging (though they still can be devastating).

Property owners across the country need to be in high alert both during the Atlantic hurricane season and in the months leading up to it to avoid devastating loss and minimize damage. Over the past five years, the U.S. remodeling industry has grown by 6.4%, earning a revenue of $99 billion in 2018. Though plenty homeowners look to remodeling for simply improving their home’s aesthetics, those who live in the path of major storms require remodeling projects to better secure the structural integrity of their homes. In addition to securing your home or business for stronger winds and intense weather, being on the lookout for upcoming storms and identifying how they will be referred to is crucial, as well.

The National Hurricane Center creates a list of storm names that will be assigned when a storm is powerful enough to become a hurricane, tropical storm, or tropical depression.

“Over time, it was learned that the use of short, easily remembered names in written as well as spoken communications is quicker and reduces confusion when two or more tropical storms occur at the same time,” said an official for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). “In the past, confusion and false rumors resulted when storm advisories broadcast from radio stations were mistaken for warnings concerning an entirely different storm located hundreds of miles away.”

According to Coastal Living, a tropical system requires a storm name when it maintains sustained wind speeds of 39 miles per hour. In order to reach hurricane status, however, a storm needs to have sustained winds of 74 miles per hour.

Hurricane naming, which began in 1953, isn’t just for convenience purposes, it’s vital information that government officials, business owners, and individuals across the country need to be aware of. Here are the Atlantic Ocean hurricane names for 2019: