By Agence France-Presse
They were the deadliest and most destructive: hurricanes Beryl, Helene, and Milton in the Atlantic and John in the eastern Pacific—and their names are no longer an option to christen future storms, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced Wednesday.
Instead, the names Brianna, Holly, and Miguel have been added to the list of possibilities for future storms in the Atlantic, while Jake was added for the eastern Pacific roster.
By giving hurricanes and cyclones human names, the WMO believes it is easier to warn populations about a storm’s potential dangers.
Names are assigned in alphabetical order, alternating between feminine and masculine names that are short and easy to pronounce.
“The names are repeated every six years, unless a storm is so deadly that its name is retired,” the WMO explained in a statement.
In 2024, “Hurricane Beryl was the earliest Atlantic basin Category-5 hurricane on record, with major impacts in the Caribbean,” it said.
“Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused catastrophic damage in the United States. Hurricane John triggered deadly and extended flooding in the Mexican state of Guerrero.”
Climate change has affected the severity and frequency of such storms, scientists warn.
Tropical cyclones—the term for hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons—feed on moisture in the air and draw their energy from the heat of the water.
“The proportion of intense tropical cyclones (Categories 4-5) is expected to increase at the global scale with increasing global warming,” the WMO said in 2022, a message reiterated many times since.
Rising sea surface temperatures are fueling more powerful and frequent storms.
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season was the ninth consecutive season with above-average activity, with 18 storms intense enough to be named.
Five storms developed into major hurricanes of Categories 3 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with winds of 178 kilometers (111 miles) per hour or more, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
