HAVANA, May 14 (NNN-ACN) — An international committee of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has been maintaining and updating for years the names of tropical storms and cyclones that can form in the Atlantic during the season that begins on June 1 and ends on Nov 30.
Since 1953, their respective lists have been drawn up by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and this time they include Barry, Chantal, Dexter, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Imelda, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van and Wendy.
The WMO also confirmed that last April four of the original designations had to be withdrawn and replaced by Beryl, Helene, Milton and John, for being particularly destructive and deadly.
Hurricane Beryl was the first Category 5 (maximum) hurricane registered in the Atlantic basin in July 2024, impacting the Texas Gulf Coast as a Scale 1 storm and leaving millions of people without power for days during the course of the sweltering Texas summer.
Meanwhile, Helene and Milton caused catastrophic damage in the southeastern United States, including more than 200 deaths, while John caused deadly and prolonged flooding in the Mexican state of Guerrero. — NNN-ACN
