These lists normally cover a six year period after which the lists are recycled. Male and female names are used alternately, though this wasn't always the case. The most recent Atlantic hurricane was named Harvey, a male name. Should another tropical storm-hurricane form, it will be named Irene. For more on hurricane name protocol, click politically correct now.
Hurricanes are monster storms, often hundreds of miles in diameter.
Storms vary in wind speed, amount of precipitation, height of storm surge, barometric pressure at storm center and amount and types of damage produced. The most devastating U.S. hurricane of this century occured in 1900 at Galveston Island, Texas. This Category 5 storm destroyed a large portion of Galveston and an estimated 8,000 lives were lost. In other regions of the world, the devastation has been much greater. For more about hurricanes, lists of storm names and the Saffir-Simpson Scale, click hurricanes00 or the button at the bottom of this page.