Hurricane season is still months away, but there are already names for the potential storms in 2019.
The 21 names shared by the National Hurricane Center are for tropical cyclones that will form in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.
The 2019 hurricane season will begin on June 1 and run through Nov. 30.
Early forecasts from AccuWeather predict that the 2019 hurricane season will not be as active as the past two years, according to the Tampa Bay Times. In 2017 and 2018, storms such as Harvey, Irma, Florence and Michael were among the most powerful to make landfall in the Southeast, leading to fatalities and destruction through both Carolinas.
AccuWeather predicts this season will have five to seven hurricanes, with as many as 14 tropical storms forming in the Atlantic, according to the Caller Times.
While this season might not match the power of the past two years, AccuWeather said it is expected to be “more active than a typical season,” the Tampa Bay Times reported.
Because of the damage wreaked by Florence and Michael, those names have been retired by NOAA, The State reported.
The names were retired out of sensitivity concerns because the storms resulted in so much damage and caused a number of fatalities, according to NOAA. At least 50 people died as a result of Hurricane Florence, according to the News & Observer, while the death toll from Hurricane Michael was at least 45 deaths, WSFA reported.
The National Hurricane Center has been naming Atlantic storms since 1953, according to NOAA.
Should more than 21 storms form in a single season, NOAA said “additional storms will take names from the Greek alphabet.”
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