Hurricane Season is Here, Check Out This Year’s Names

2011 Hurricane Names

With the 2011 hurricane season beginning June 1st, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released its prediction of the season. NOAA said the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season will be an above normal season with about 12-18 named storms. There is a pre-approved list of tropical storm and hurricane names for every year. These lists have been generated by the National Hurricane Center since 1953. At first, the lists consisted of only female names; however, since 1979, the lists alternate between male and female. Hurricanes are named alphabetically from the list in chronological order. The first tropical storm or hurricane of the year has a name that begins with “A” and the second is given the name that begins with “B.” The lists contain hurricane names that begin from A to W, but exclude names that begin with a “Q” or “U.” There are six lists that continue to rotate. The lists only change when there is a hurricane that is so devastating, the name is retired. Here is a look at the list of names that will be used in 2011’s hurricane season:

Arlene	Harvey	Ophelia
Bret	Irene	Philippe
Cindy	Jose	Rina
Don	Katia	Sean
Emily	Lee	Tammy
Franklin	Maria	Vince
Gert	Nate	Whitney

The 10 Deadliest Hurricanes for the U.S. (From NOAA):

Rank/Name	Year	Category	Deaths
1. Great Galveston Hurricane (TX)	1900	4	8000
2. FL (Lake Okeechobee)	1928	4	2500
3. Katrina (LA/MS/FL/GA/AL)	2005	3	1833
4. Cheniere Caminanda (LA)	1893	4	1100-1400
5. Sea Islands (SC/GA)	1893	3	1000-2000
6. GA/SC	1881	2	700
7. Great Labor Day Hurricane (FL Keys)	1935	5	408
7. Last Island (LA)	1856	4	400
9. Audrey (SW LA/N TX)	1957	4	390
10. LA (Grand Isle)	1909	4	350