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2009 STORM NAMES

Tropical storms and hurricanes are given names to make them easier to track as they move across the ocean.  Storms are named one per every letter of the alphabet, excluding the letters Q, U, and Z.  Names alternate between male and female names.  The World Meteorological Organization uses six lists in rotation, reusing the lists every six years.  The only time a new name is added is if a hurricane is very deadly or costly, and then the name is retired and a new name is chosen.   In the event that more than 21 named tropical cyclones occur in the Atlantic basin in a season, additional storms will take names from the Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, etc.).  If a storm forms in the off-season, it will take the next name in the list based on the current calendar date.

The 2009 list is as follows: