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Hurricane names

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Eastender | 12:44 Fri 23rd Sep 2005 | News
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Hi, after the last hurricane, Katrina.  Why is the next one called Rita? I thought the names went in boy, girl order, and alphabet order? cheers
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there have actually been several storms since Katrina,  they just didn't make the news as they never touched any land.

The names of hurricanes are taken from a set list which rotates on a six-yearly cycle.  Sorry,  I don't know if they alternate between boys and girls names.

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Science/Question144920.html

On this question, gen2 lists the names of the tropical storms, and it does look like they alternate between boy and girl names:  Katrina, Lee, Maria, Nate, Ophelia, Philippe, and Rita.  Hey, where's "Q"?  I guess it is too hard to find a name that begins with "Q". 

The names for tropical storms (they may not achieve hurricane status) for 2005 since Katrina are:

Katrina
Lee
Maria
Nate
Ophelia
Philippe
Rita

This is just for the Atlantic storms.  This link will show you all the names for all the areas of the world:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml

heres an explanation of why hurricanes are named and theres a link to click on that gives you the names for this year and several other years http://www.fema.gov/kids/hunames.htm

If you click on this link http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/custom/sfl-inttrackmap,0,1486873.htmlstory its a online tracking map of storms (current and past)

Question Author
Thanks for all your input.
they go on a six-year rota, so they'd need to find 6 names beginning with Q; and they couldn't. Same with U, X and Z. So they may have to start using Greek letters if they get to the end of the Roman alphabet before the end of the hurricane season.
Hurricane Phillippe which is officially now a tropical storm is battering Bermuda as we speak - it just hasnt made the news as widely as the devastating Hurricane Rita or katrina before it - obviously Lee Maria Nate and Ophelia didnt do anywhere near so much damage to any notable society
They'd all be called Quincy and Quebec I guess! :-p
Each time a hurricane devestates an area or kills lots of people they remove the name and don't use it again, that's why there's gaps. I don't know what the exactlevel of devastation has to be to get removed though.

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