List of 2024 Atlantic hurricane season storm names starts with Alberto and Beryl

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Alberto, Beryl, and Chris are the first names on the list for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, officially starting on June 1.

Tropical storms earn their names when their sustained winds reach 39 mph, while they become hurricanes when their winds hit 74 mph.

Typically, an Atlantic hurricane season sees around 14 tropical storms, with about seven developing into hurricanes, based on weather data spanning from 1991 to 2020.

Forecasters are anticipating an active season, with up to 33 named storms possible, according to hurricane experts from the University of Pennsylvania, as outlined in a forecast released earlier this month.

Below is the list of names for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season:

The names are allocated alphabetically, and each new storm is assigned the subsequent name on the list. There are no Q, U, X, Y, or Z names due to the limited availability of usable names starting with those letters.

Here’s the pronunciation guide for all the 2024 hurricane names:

Alberto
Beryl
Chris
Debby
Ernesto
Francine
Gordon
Helene
Isaac
Joyce
Kirk
Leslie
Milton
Nadine
Oscar
Patty
Rafael
Sara
Tony
Valerie
William

If all 21 names are utilized this year, a supplementary list of 21 names will be employed after William. Here is that list, provided by the World Meteorological Organization:

Adria
Braylen
Caridad
Deshawn
Emery
Foster
Gemma
Heath
Isla
Jacobus
Kenzie
Lucio
Makayla
Nolan
Orlanda
Pax
Ronin
Sophie
Tayshaun
Viviana
Will

Why do hurricanes get names, and how does the naming process work?

Before the practice of naming storms, forecasters had to refer to them using geographical coordinates, leading to confusion as the storm’s position changed over time. By assigning names, identifying and communicating about storms became more manageable, especially when multiple storms were active simultaneously.

The tradition of naming hurricanes began in the U.S. in 1953, initially using female names. Male names were introduced in 1979, and the naming pattern alternates between male and female names.

Eastern Pacific hurricane names

Tropical storms and hurricanes forming in the eastern Pacific Ocean are assigned names from a separate list:

Aletta
Bud
Carlotta
Daniel
Emilia
Fabio
Gilma
Hector
Ileana
John
Kristy
Lane
Miriam
Norman
Olivia
Paul
Rosa
Sergio
Tara
Vicente
Willa
Xavier
Yolanda
Zeke

Although eastern Pacific hurricanes rarely impact the U.S., exceptions like Hilary, which caused damage across parts of California and the Southwest last year, occur. The eastern Pacific hurricane season begins on May 15, which is more than two weeks earlier than the Atlantic season.

Central Pacific hurricanes have their own list of names, with Hawaii occasionally affected. Additionally, separate lists exist for typhoons in the western Pacific and tropical cyclones in Australia and the Indian Ocean.