A tropical cyclone gets a name when its sustained winds reach 39 mph (63 km/h). Below that speed it is a tropical depression and carries only a number, such as Tropical Depression Six. The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season names list runs from Arthur to Wilfred, and the full list is below.
Tropical depression, tropical storm, hurricane: what the words mean
The three terms describe one storm at different stages. The only measurement that separates them is sustained wind speed, the average wind over one minute.
| Stage | Sustained winds | Named? |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical depression | Under 39 mph (63 km/h) | Number only |
| Tropical storm | 39 to 73 mph (63 to 118 km/h) | Yes |
| Category 1 hurricane | 74 to 95 mph (119 to 153 km/h) | Yes |
| Category 2 hurricane | 96 to 110 mph (154 to 177 km/h) | Yes |
| Category 3 hurricane (major) | 111 to 129 mph (178 to 208 km/h) | Yes |
| Category 4 hurricane (major) | 130 to 156 mph (209 to 251 km/h) | Yes |
| Category 5 hurricane (major) | 157 mph or higher (252 km/h or higher) | Yes |
The Saffir-Simpson scale rates hurricanes from Category 1 to Category 5 using wind speed alone. Category 3 and above are called major hurricanes.
Why storms have names at all
A name is shorter and harder to confuse than a set of coordinates or a number. When two or three systems are active in the Atlantic at once, forecasters, emergency managers, and the public need one word for each. The Atlantic has used names since 1953. Early lists used only female names, and male names joined the lists in 1979.
Who picks the names
The World Meteorological Organization’s Hurricane Committee for North America, Central America, and the Caribbean maintains six rotating lists of 21 names. Each list is used for one season and returns six years later.
Names run in alphabetical order and alternate between male and female. The lists skip Q, U, X, Y, and Z because few names start with those letters.
A name is retired when a storm causes enough deaths or damage that reusing it would be inappropriate. The WMO retired Melissa after the 2025 season, the most recent Atlantic name to leave the list. A retired name is replaced with a new name that starts with the same letter, so the list stays at 21 names.
The World Meteorological Organization maintains six rotating lists of 21 Atlantic storm names, and each list repeats every six years.
When a season uses all 21 names, the next storms draw from a supplemental list. The 2020 season used every name on the main list, reaching 30 named storms. Until then, the extra storms took Greek letters. The WMO dropped the Greek alphabet in 2021 after Eta and Iota were retired.
The 2026 Atlantic hurricane names
Names are used in order as storms reach 39 mph.
| Names 1 to 7 | Names 8 to 14 | Names 15 to 21 |
|---|---|---|
| Arthur | Hanna | Omar |
| Bertha | Isaias | Paulette |
| Cristobal | Josephine | Rene |
| Dolly | Kyle | Sally |
| Edouard | Leah | Teddy |
| Fay | Marco | Vicky |
| Gonzalo | Nana | Wilfred |
Season forecasts count names. NOAA’s May 21 outlook called for 8 to 14 named storms, so the list would reach somewhere between Hanna and Nana. Colorado State University’s April 9 forecast of 13 named storms ends at Marco. Tropical Storm Risk’s forecast of 12 ends at Leah.
What a name does not tell you
A name identifies one storm so that forecasters, media, and the public refer to the same system. The name does not describe strength. A tropical storm and a Category 4 hurricane both carry a name, and a storm can strengthen or weaken while keeping it.
Current strength and location come from the storm’s advisories and from live data. RainViewer shows official severe weather warnings on the map, next to live radar for the area around a saved location.
RainViewer alerts users when a tropical storm forms nearby, timed to when the storm is expected to reach their location.
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