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SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2017 | PAGE 1B
2017
Disaster Preparedness Guide 2017 tropical storms name list released
The National Hurricane Center has announced the list of names that will be used for the 2017 hurricane season. The names, in order of potential usage, follow:
FILE PHOTO
A flooded North Main Street in the flood-prone Kimberly area is shown the day after Hurricane Matthew passed by Suffolk in October 2016.
Track of the storm not the whole story BY TRACY AGNEW NEWS EDITOR
Many tropical storms and hurricanes have affected Suffolk over the years, but the last five or six years have produced some memorable events. “We have to be prepared every year for storms,” said Jeff Orrock, meteorologistin-charge at the National Weather Service Wakefield. “Threats come from rain, wind and storm surge. Our region is experiencing significant flooding and even winds, even when storms do not strike us directly.” This was a lesson many in Suffolk learned in October of last year, when Hurricane Matthew passed south of Cape Hatteras — well southeast of Suffolk — and still manSee STORM, 2B
Arlene Lee Bret Maria Cindy Nate Don Ophelia Emily Philippe Franklin Rina Gert Sean Harvey Tammy Irma Vince Jose Whitney Katia Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms had been named from lists originated by the National Hurricane Center. They are now maintained and updated through a strict procedure by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization. Six lists are used in rotation and recycled every six years. In other words, the 2017 list will be used again in 2023. The only time there is a
change in the list is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for reasons of sensitivity. If that occurs, then at an annual meeting by the WMO committee (called primarily to discuss many other issues) the offending name is stricken from the list, and another name is selected to replace it. Several names have been retired since the lists were created. If a storm forms in the offseason, it will take the next name in the list based on the current calendar date. For example, if a tropical cyclone formed on Dec. 28, it would take the name from the previous season’s list of names. If a storm formed in February, it would be named from the subsequent season’s list of names. In the event that more than 21 named tropical cyclones occur in the Atlantic basin in a season, additional storms will take names from the Greek alphabet.
Historical storm tide events
1900: A Galveston, Texas, hurricane resulted in more than 8,000 deaths, most by storm tide. 1969: Hurricane Camille produced a 24-foot storm tide in Mississippi. 1989: Hurricane Hugo generated a 20-foot storm tide in South Carolina.
1992: Hurricane Iniki produced a 6-foot storm tide on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. 2005: Hurricane Katrina generated a 27-foot storm tide in Mississippi. 2008: Hurricane Ike produced a 20-foot storm tide in Texas.