2021 Hurricane Season Overview
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is forecasting another above-normal Atlantic hurricane season for 2021, with between 13 and 19 named storms, including six to 10 hurricanes, three to five of which may result in major hurricanes with wind strength of Category 3 or higher.
Hurricane season begins June 1 and ends November 30. Find out more on how to prepare for hurricanes, stay safe during a storm, return safely and other national resources.
Storm Names
Since the mid-1950’s, meteorologists have used names for tropical storms and hurricanes.
The World Meteorological Organization is responsible for developing the names for both Northern Pacific and Atlantic storms. They use six lists of names for Atlantic Ocean and Eastern North Pacific storms. These lists rotate, one each year.
That means every six years, the names cycle back around and get reused (which happened in 2019). If a hurricane does tremendous damage the name is retired and replaced by a different name beginning with the same letter.
The names alternate between male and female names, listed alphabetically and in chronological order starting with A and omitting Q and U, X, Y, and Z. If more than 21 names are required during a season, the Greek alphabet is used.
This year’s names are:
AnnaBillClaudetteElsa- Fred
- Grace
- Henri
- Ida
- Julian
- Kate
11. Larry
12. Mindy
13. Nicholas
14. Odette
15. Peter
16. Rose
17. Sam
18. Teresa
19. Victor
20. Wanda
Tropical Storms vs. Hurricanes
Names are only given to tropical storms that have sustained wind speeds higher than 39 mph. These names will stay with the storm as it reaches hurricane strength (maximum sustained winds of 74 mph or higher). This means Tropical Storm Arthur, for example, will become Hurricane Arthur if it reaches hurricane strength.
Evacuation Decisions
The Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and local emergency managers make the decision if an evacuation is warranted and establish the timeline for the evacuation.
McNeese officials attend the Calcasieu Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness meetings and report information back to the McNeese Emergency Preparedness Team for guidance in campus decisions.
