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21st October 2004:

Bert gave an interesting talk on Weather systems: (Hurricanes, Cyclones, or Typhoons)
as well as describing the Way that these weather systems are created, Bert also explained the Naming conventions.
Text shown in italics was taken from an article Published in the *** Newspaper)

The name hurricane is used in North America and the Caribbean.
West of the International date line 180o longtitude such storms are known as Typhoons
Around the Indian Ocean and Australia, they are called Tropical Cyclones.
Hurricane seasons are June - Nov in the Northern hemisphere and from Nov - May in the Southern hemisphere.
When winds increase to 39Mph [62 KPH] the system is classified as a tropical storm.
When wind reaches 74MPH [119KPH] the storm is then classified as a Typhoon or Cyclone.
Since 1997, The weather services have given hurricanes alternate Male & Female names.
Hurricanes have been identified by personal names since 1953, and names are revised every six years by the World Meteorological Organisation meeting in Geneva.
The names have an international flavour, since hurricanes are tracked by the people and weather services of many countries.
When a disturbance intensifies into tropical storm status, the various authorities give it a name from the current list.
In the event of a very damaging hurricane, such as Andrew in 1992, its name is retired permanently and a new name is substituted in the list.
When more storms develop in a given year than there are names in the relevant list, the Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, etc) is used to name subsequent systems.
the following names will be used for hurricanes and tropical storms in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico from 2004 to 2009:

2004: Alex, Bonnie, Charley, Danielle, Earl, Frances, Gaston, Hermine, Ivan, Jeanne, karl, Lisa, Matthew, Nicole, Otto, paula, Richard, Shary, tomas, virginie, and Walter.

2005: Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Dennis, emily, Franklin, Gert, Harvey, Irene, Jose, Katrina, Lee, Maria, Nate, Ophelia, Phillipe, Rita, Stan, Tammy, Vince, and Wilma.

2006: Alberto, Beryl, Chris, debby, ernesto, florence, gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, michael, nadine, Oscar, patty, Rafael, Sandy, tony, valerie, and William.

2007: Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dean, Erin, Felix, Gabrielle, Humberto, Ingrid, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, noel, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van, and Wendy.

2008: Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gustav, Hanna, Ike, Josephine, Kyle, Laura, Marco, Nana, Omar, Paloma, Rene, Sally, Teddy, Vicky, and Wilfred.

2009: Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Erica, Fred, Grace, henri, Ida, Joaquin, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor, and Wanda.

There are also lists of names for tropical cyclones in the Eastern North Pacific. Western North Pacific, South-West Indian Ocean, Australia, Fiji, and Papua New-Guinea.
(Barry Gromett, Met Office, Exeter, DEVON)

The information contained upon this page is supplied in good faith, and to the best of my knowledge is accurate.
However, I accept no responsibility for damage or injury, however caused, due to the use of this data.