World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, 17 March 2021 – The World Meteorological Organization’s Hurricane Committee has retired Dorian (2019) and Laura, Eta and Iota (2020) from the rotating lists of Atlantic tropical cyclone names because of the death and destruction they caused. It also decided that the Greek alphabet will not be used in future because it creates a distraction from the communication of hazard and storm warnings and is potentially confusing.
The Hurricane Committee, which serves North America, Central America and the Caribbean (WMO Regional Association IV), agreed to the changes in its naming convention at its virtual session from March 15-17 . The meeting reviewed the record-breaking 2020 Atlantic season and fine-tuned preparations for 2021, including the provision of forecasts and warnings, as well as impact assessments, for wind, storm surge and flooding hazards.
Members of the Hurricane Committee, who are from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services throughout the region, discussed the formation of named storms prior to the official start of the hurricane season on 1 June. But the committee agreed that there will be no changes to the official start date of the Atlantic hurricane season in 2021.
The 2020 season got off to an early and rapid start with a record nine named storms from May through July. It ended late, with two major hurricanes in November for the first time on record and at a time when the season is normally winding down. The season was so active that WMO’s 21-name rotating list was exhausted and the Greek alphabet was used for only the second time (the first time was in 2005).
“The RA-IV Hurricane Committee’s work is critical to keep our nations coordinated well before the next storm threatens”, said Ken Graham, Hurricane Committee Chair and National Hurricane Center Director. “Hurricanes don’t care about international boundaries. We all face similar dangers from tropical systems. Impacts from a single storm can affect multiple countries, so it is critical we have a plan, coordinate our efforts, and share challenges and best practices”.
Although the naming convention is only a small part of the Hurricane Committee’s life-saving work, it attracts the most public attention. Atlantic tropical cyclone name list repeat every six years unless a storm is so deadly or costly that its name is retired from future lists.
In total,93 names have now been retired from the Atlantic basin list since 1953, when storms began to be named under the current system.
The Hurricane Committee agreed on the retirement of names from 2020, along with 2019, because this was not on the agenda of last year’s Hurricane Committee due to the unfolding COVID-19 crisis.
“Developing countries and small islands in the Caribbean and Central America are increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of tropical cyclones, which can overturn years of socio-economic development in a matter of hours. In 2020, we saw this once again with tragic effect,” says Evan Thompson, President of WMO’s Regional Association for North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
“We cannot prevent this incredible force of nature, but we do have the power to minimize the loss of life and property through cutting-edge forecasts and warnings and strong regional coordination and cooperation,” said Mr Thompson, who head’s Jamaica’s national meteorological service.
A supplementary list of Atlantic tropical cyclone names in lieu of using the Greek Alphabet was agreed by the committee.