Hurricane Michael and other names of the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season

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Hurricane Michael, currently a Category 4 storm, is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, bringing life-threatening conditions. Hurricane Leslie and Hurricane Nadine, meanwhile, remain far out in the Atlantic Ocean.

Forecasters predicted 3-5 major hurricanes for the U.S. this year. How are these and other storms named? You probably already know that hurricane names go in alphabetical order throughout the season, but it’s more structured than that.

The World Meteorological Organization, which is in charge of assigning names to hurricanes and tropical storms, has six lists that they cycle through. (In other words, they are currently using non-retired names that were also used in both 2012 and 2006.) They’ve been using this system since 1953.

The WMO looks for short, distinctive names when choosing new ones for their lists. A new one must be chosen if a name is “retired” — that is, if a storm is so destructive or deadly that it would be insensitive to continue to use the name. Four 2017 storms — Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate — caused their names to be retired. Their replacements were added to the 2023 season list.

There are more rules in the name choosing process. For example, only 21 letters of the English alphabet are in use, so none of the names start with less common letters like Q.

Here’s the list of names for storms in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and the North Atlantic.

“A” names
Alberto (2018)
Andrea (2019)
Arthur (2020)
Ana (2021)
Alex (2022)
Arlene (2023)

“B” names
Beryl (2018)
Barry (2019)
Bertha (2020)
Bill (2021)
Bonnie (2022)
Bret (2023)

“C” names
Chris (2018)
Chantal (2019)
Cristobal (2020)
Claudette (2021)
Colin (2022)
Cindy (2023)

“D” names
Debby (2018)
Dorian (2019)
Dolly (2020)
Danny (2021)
Danielle (2022)
Don (2023)

“E” names
Ernesto (2018)
Erin (2019)
Edouard (2020)
Elsa (2021)
Earl (2022)
Emily (2023)

“F” names
Florence (2018)
Fernand (2019)
Fay (2020)
Fred (2021)
Fiona (2022)
Franklin (2023)

“G” names

Gordon (2018)
Gabrielle (2019)
Gonzalo (2020)
Grace (2021)
Gaston (2022)
Gert (2023)

“H” names
Helene (2018)
Humberto (2019)
Hanna (2020)
Henri (2021)
Hermine (2022)
Harold (2023)

“I” names
Isaac (2018)
Imelda (2019)
Isaias (2020)
Ida (2021)
Ian (2022)
Idalia (2023)

“J” names
Joyce (2018)
Jerry (2019)
Josephine (2020)
Julian (2021)
Julia (2022)
Jose (2023)

“K” names
Kirk (2018)
Karen (2019)
Kyle (2020)
Kate (2021)
Karl (2022)
Katia (2023)

“L” names
Leslie (2018)
Lorenzo (2019)
Laura (2020)
Larry (2021)
Lisa (2022)
Lee (2023)

“M” names
Michael (2018)
Melissa (2019)
Marco (2020)
Mindy (2021)
Martin (2022)
Margot (2023)

“N” names
Nadine (2018)

Nestor (2019)
Nana (2020)
Nicholas (2021)
Nicole(2022)
Nigel (2023)

“O” names
Oscar (2018)
Olga (2019)
Omar (2020)
Odette (2021)
Owen (2022)
Ophelia (2023)

“P” names
Patty (2018)
Pablo (2019)
Paulette (2020)
Peter (2021)
Paula (2022)
Philippe (2023)

“R” names
Rafael (2018)
Rebekah (2019)
Rene (2020)
Rose (2021)
Richard (2022)
Rina (2023)

“S” names
Sara (2018)
Sebastien (2019)
Sally (2020)
Sam (2021)
Shary (2022)
Sean (2023)

“T” names
Tony (2018)
Tanya (2019)
Teddy (2020)
Teresa (2021)
Tobias (2022)
Tammy (2023)

“V” names
Valerie (2018)
Van (2019)
Vicky (2020)
Victor (2021)
Virginie (2022)
Vince (2023)

“W” names
William (2018)
Wendy (2019)
Wilfred (2020)
Wanda (2021)
Walter (2022)
Whitney (2023)