Click in image to the right to see a larger view of the names used to identify tropical storms, hurricanes, and weakening depressions this year.  It is one of a set of six lists of names assigned to our region of the tropics.  Each list is used every six years; that is, this year's list will again be used in 2017, and last year's list will be featured again in 2016.

Names of historically-significant hurricanes and tropical storms can be "retired," or removed, from the list and replaced with new names for the next time the list is used.  This year's list was last used in the active season of 2005; four names are new this year (Don, Katia, Rina, Whitney) which replaced four major and damaging storms from 2005 (Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Wilma).