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2010 STORM NAMES

Tropical storms and hurricanes are given names to make them easier to track as they move across the ocean.  Storms are named one per every letter of the alphabet, excluding the letters Q, U, and Z.  Names alternate between male and female names.  The World Meteorological Organization uses six lists in rotation, reusing the lists every six years.  The only time a new name is added is if a hurricane is very deadly or costly, and then the name is retired and a new name is chosen.   In the event that more than 21 named tropical cyclones occur in the Atlantic basin in a season, additional storms will take names from the Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, etc.).  If a storm forms in the off-season, it will take the next name in the list based on the current calendar date. The Atlantic and Pacific oceans have different lists.

The 2010 lists are as follows:

Atlantic Storms
Alex Danielle Gaston Julia Matthew Paula Tomas	Bonnie Earl Hermine Karl Nicole Richard Virgine	Colin Fiona Igor Lisa Otto Shary Walter
Pacific Storms
Agatha Darby Georgette Javier Madeline Paine Tina Xavier	Blas Estelle Howard Kay Newton Rsolyn Virgil Yolanda	Celia Frank Isis Lester Orlene Seymour Winifred Zeke

Previous year storm names:

• 2009