Hurricane names released for the upcoming season

While the hurricane season doesn't kick off until June 1, the National Hurricane Center has released the names for the 2025 season.

Now before a storm can receive a name it must elevate from a tropical depression into a tropical storm.

In 1953, the United States started using female names for storm identification. Assigning distinctive names cut down on confusion and allowed for clear communication when discussing these tropical storms. 

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It wasn’t until 26 years later in 1979, that male names were finally included in the list for storm identification. Since then, the World Meteorological Organization’s Hurricane Committee has made a push to include a diverse pool of ethnic male and female names.  

This list of names will be reused in 2031 with one exception. Infamous hurricanes can have their name “retired” to never be used again. Katrina, Matthew, Andrew, Ida, Ian, and Irma are a handful to achieve this status.