How are hurricanes named and who names them?
• Tropical cyclones (which can become hurricanes in the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific and typhoons in the western North Pacific) can last from a day to a couple of weeks. Therefore, there can be more than one tropical cyclone at a time in a same region. Weather forecasters give each tropical cyclone a name from the predesignated list of names so that the cyclone can be easily identified without confusion with others. The name lists are designated for every region by the tropical cyclone regional bodies such as the Hurricane Committee (for the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific) and the Typhoon Committee (for the western North Pacific). Each list has its unique character. In Atlantic basin, for example, women’s and men’s names are alternated. The first five names for the 2009 season in the Atlantic are Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny and Erika and, in the eastern North Pacific, Andres, Blanca, Carlos, Dolores and Enrique. In the western North Pacific, a new system for naming tropical c
