Hurricane Names

This passage is about how hurricanes get their names.

Lexile Level: 1140L

Categories: Animals & Nature

Maybe you have wondered why hurricanes are named and how they get their names. One reason that we name hurricanes is that it makes it easier to talk about them. It is possible for there to be more than one hurricane in the ocean at the same time, and if each has a name, we know which one is being discussed in weather reports. It also makes it easier to remember each separate storm when each one has its own name. The United States National Weather Service began using girls' names to name hurricanes in 1953. In 1979, they began using boys' names, too. The names given each season are in alphabetical order, beginning with "A" and using all the letters in the alphabet except "Q," "U," and "Z." Since the main languages used by people whose countries border the Atlantic Ocean are English, French, and Spanish, the names chosen are usually derived from one of these three languages.