Atlantic hurricane season runs out of names for the 2nd year in a row, 3rd time in history

Hurricane Florence in 2018.
(Image credit: ESA/NASA via Getty Images)

The National Weather Service identified Subtropical Storm Wanda on Saturday, the 21st named storm of the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane season — and, for the second time in two years, the end of the regular list of names. If any more storms form after Wanda, the National Weather Service will have to turn to a list of supplemental names for just the third time ever, after 2020 and 2005. Last year there were a record 30 named storms, and the last nine were Greek letters.

There won't be Greek letters this year. In March, the World Meteorological Organization said Greek letters were too generic and confusing. "Zeta, Eta, Theta — if you think about even me saying those — to have those storms at the same time was tough," Kenneth Graham, the National Hurricane Center's director, said earlier this year. "People were mixing the storms up."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.