Quote:
Originally posted by Icarus
This thread is interesting  what's the deal with the naming of the storms? They're in alphabetical order each year, and then after it happens the name is "retired" or something? Is there a difference between male and female names? |
There are 6 lists of names for the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific basins, and they rotate. Thus, the list being used this year was also used in 2004 and 2010 (excluding retired names). The names alternate between male and female. The Central Pacific has 4 rotating lists for storms that form in their basin, and 3 different agencies (the Japanese Meteorological Agency, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, and PAGASA, the Filipino agency) name storms in the Western Pacific, the latter only if it forms in the Filipino area of responsibility.
Names are retired when the World Meteorological Organization decides that a storm was particularly devastating & that it would be insensitive to use the name again. They meet every March and retire any applicable names from the previous year, replacing them with new names.
