An index is available of selected Washington Post stories about hurricanes past . You can get the names of future storms through the year 2001. If a storm is particularly severe, its name is retired . Learn why they name hurricanes . Go to Hurricane Introduction Go to Hurricane Center front page.
Major hurricanes are relatively rare events at any location.
Coastal residents from Brownsville Tex., to Eastport, Me., have a good chance of living many years without experiencing one. But none of our coastal areas are immune. It's best to be prepared. This could be the year. Hurricanes are tropical cyclones in which winds reach constant speeds of 74 miles per hour or more, and blow in a large spiral around a relatively calm center he eye of the hurricane.