Tropical Storm Philippe will target the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico over the weekend. However, instead of strengthening on its way there, it'll weaken, which is unusual.
Here are all of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane names
Arlene: June 1, 2023
Arlene was a short-lived tropical storm that made an unusual southward track over the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Bret: June 19, 2023
Bret developed in the open tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean on June 19. A storm forming this far east is very unusual for this time of the year. Only Tropical Storm Ana in 1979, Tropical Storm Bonnie in 2016 and Tropical Storm Elsa are among the small number of systems that have formed in this area.Â
Cindy: June 22, 2023
Cindy made history. When it tuned into a tropical storm on June 22, 2023 became the first year on record where two named storms (tropical storm or hurricane) developed in the main development region of the Atlantic Ocean in the month of June.
The main development region is an area from the Lesser Antilles east to the west coast of Africa, typically between 10 and 25 degrees north latitude.Â
Don: July 14, 2023
Don developed as a subtropical storm Friday, July 14 between Bermuda and the Azores island chain.Â
A subtropical storm means the system has characteristics of both a cold core storm, like a nor'easter, and a warm-core storm, like a hurricane.Â
Emily: Aug 15, 2023
Tropical Storm Emily formed Aug. 15 but eventually became devoid of deep convection and became a post-tropical cyclone.
Franklin: Aug. 20, 2023
Franklin formed as a tropical storm on Aug. 20.Â
Gert: Aug. 21, 2023
Gert formed on Aug. 21. At the time, it was one of three actively spinning tropical storms in the Atlantic.Â
Harold: Aug. 21, 2023
Harold formed as a tropical storm on Aug. 21. According to Philip Klotzbach of Colorado State University, Harold was the fourth named storm to develop in less than 40 hours, setting an Atlantic Hurricane Basin record.Â
Idalia: Aug. 24, 2023
Hurricane Idalia initially formed Aug. 24 and made landfall in the Big Bend of Florida at 7:45 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, Aug. 30. Cedar Key reported a 10.7 foot tide.Â
Hurricane Idalia in review: What went right, what went wrong, where do we go from here?
Jose: Aug. 31, 2023
Tropical Storm Jose formed on Aug. 31 in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean.Â
Katia: Sept. 1, 2023
Katia formed from a Tropical Depression on Sept. 1. This is the 12th named storm of the year. Typically, this happens on Oct. 11 .
Lee: Sept. 5, 2023
Tropical Storm Lee formed from a tropical wave of low pressure off the West African coastline on Sept. 5. This ties 2005, 2011, 2012 and 2020 as the most active by Sept. 5.Â
Lee formed into a hurricane, undergoing rapid intensification, taking it from a category one to category five in less than 24 hours.Â
Lee made landfall on Long Island in Nova Scotia on Sept. 16 around 4 p.m. as a post-tropical cyclone. On Sept. 17, it passed through Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Newfoundland Canada.Â
Margot (Pronounced MAR-go): Sept. 7, 2023
After a few hours as a Tropical Depression, Tropical Storm Margot formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 7, 2023. It turned into a hurricane, but remained spinning in the open Atlantic, well away from land.Â
Margot turned into a post-tropical cyclone on Sept. 17 after completing a loop in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. It never directly hit land as a tropical cyclone.Â
Nigel: Sept. 16, 2023
Nigel started as Tropical Depression 15 and turned into a tropical storm on Sept. 16 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. From there, it underwent rapid intensification, classified as a 35 mph wind speed increase in less than 24 hours.Â
Ophelia: Sept. 22, 2023
The National Hurricane Center watched this low pressure system for 24 hours off the Southeastern United States coast before calling it Ophelia the afternoon of Sept. 22. As is new National Hurricane Center policy, tropical storm warnings were issued from South Carolina to Maryland, even before the storm was officially tropical. The storm made landfall near Emerald Isle, NC on the morning of Sept. 23. By 11 p.m. that night, the storm became a remnant storm.Â
Rina: Sept. 28, 2023
Tropical Storm Rina formed in the central part of the Tropical Atlantic Ocean, between Africa and the Lesser Antilles on Sept. 28. Rina's a weak tropical storm, with wind shear, change in winds with height, limiting storm development.Â
Tammy: Oct. 18, 2023
Tropical Storm Tammy formed a few hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles (Virgin Islands, Barbados), etc the evening of Oct. 18.Â
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Whitney
What happens if all of those names are used?
If the National Hurricane Center wants to classify a tropical cyclone beyond William, a supplemental list of names are used.Â
These names have been in place since 2021. Before 2021, the Greek alphabet was used for additional storms. However, a very active 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season, and the Greek alphabet storm names, brought confusion. This led the World Meteorological Organization to swap those names for this list.Â
