Harold, Idalia, Margot and Nigel added to 2023 storm names

This year’s hurricane season, which is fewer than 12 weeks away, will see four new names added to the storm list.

Six lists of 21 names are in rotation, with the 2023 list mostly being a repeat of the names used in 2017. However, names of storms that have caused major damage or loss of life are retired, so Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate, which wreaked havoc in the US, Central America or the Caribbean in 2017, are not on this year’s list.

Those names are being replaced by Harold, Idalia, Margot and Nigel.

2023 Atlantic storm names

Hurricane season officially runs from 1 June to 30 Nov. However, named storms frequently form prior to the beginning of the season. Although last year, Alex, the first named storm in the Atlantic season, formed on 5 June, each of the previous seven years featured early-season storms.

Background to naming storms

In 1953, the US National Hurricane Center began naming Atlantic tropical storms from lists it drew up. Originally, all storm names were feminine, but male names were added in 1979. Storm lists are now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization.

Other storm names that have been removed from recurring Atlantic hurricane lists over the years have been Ivan, which devastated Grand Cayman in 2004; Katrina, which caused massive damage in New Orleans in 2005; Sandy, which hit the US in 2012, and Mitch, which struck Honduras in 1998.

Supplemental names

In years when there were more than 21 storms during a season, Greek names were used. However, this process was retired following the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, which was the busiest on record, with 30 named storms – including nine storms with Greek alphabet names.

The World Metrological Organization now has an alternate list of names it uses for very busy seasons.

Those supplemental names are: