# What Hurricane is the highest alphabeticallly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 30, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210 "2005-08-30T04:16:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/1 "2005-08-30T04:16:38Z")
Or what hurricane season had the most storms? I don’t recally any Ks before but I’m not a big fan of the Hurricanes. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/2 "2005-08-30T04:21:39Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Or what hurricane season had the most storms? I don’t recally any Ks before but I’m not a big fan of the Hurricanes. There was a [Hurricane Roxanne](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Roxanne) in 1995. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Gene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@Soylent\_Gene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Gene)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/3 "2005-08-30T04:21:46Z")
Dont know the answer, but there was a Hurricane Maude many years ago. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/4 "2005-08-30T04:25:20Z")
Not an exact answer but [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/deadly/Table7.htm](http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/deadly/Table7.htm) from [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/deadly/](http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/deadly/) Should help somewhat. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/5 "2005-08-30T04:36:41Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I’m not a big fan of the Hurricanes. I don’t blame you. That whole bolting from the Big East to join the ACC thing was pretty lame. ---
**Author:** ![KeithT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@KeithT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KeithT)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/6 "2005-08-30T05:30:10Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > There was a [Hurricane Roxanne](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Roxanne) in 1995. That year saw 19 named storms, up to and including a [Hurricane Tanya](http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1995tanya.html). (The Atlantic storm name lists don’t contain any names beginning with Q, U, X, Y, or Z.) In contrast, 1963 saw only three named storms: Arlene, Beulah, and Cindy. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/7 "2005-08-30T07:01:01Z")
I know you specifically asked about hurricanes, which implies you’re interested in cyclones around the US. You may also be interested to know that there was a tropical cyclone (synonymous with “hurricane”) **[Zoe](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=5317)** which affected islands north west of Fiji in December 2002. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/8 "2005-08-30T10:48:06Z")
Since the current system of naming storms alphabetically was put in place, 1995 has been the most active year for North Atlantic and Caribbean named storms (tropical storms and hurricanes). The last named storm of that year was Hurricane Tanya, as noted above. However, in 1933, I believe there were 21 storms that would have been named if the current naming system had been in place. The last storm would have been given a W name under today’s rules and there would be no letters left (since Q, U, X, Y, and Z are not now used). All four of these letters were on lists of names for some years in the past, but none of them was ever used for an actual storm. If there are more than 21 named storms in a season, the current plan is to use the letters of the Greek alphabet for the extras (alpha, beta, gamma, delta, etc.). Because the naming conventions are different, the situation is confused in the other parts of the earth that are subject to tropical cyclones (tropical storms, hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons). The lists in some areas are not alphabetical, the naming conventions have changed over the years in some areas, and some areas have “circular” lists (i.e., they don’t start over again at the beginning of each season, but carry on where they left off the season before). I believe that the Fiji area uses a circular alphabetical list, so a Z name like Zoe could come at any stage in the season and would be followed by an A name. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/9 "2005-08-30T11:02:33Z")
For the 2006 North Atlantic storms, both my first name (nickname) and my wife’s are on the list. But they start on the late end of the alphabet, so even though the name list is recycled every 6 years for the NA. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/10 "2005-08-30T11:54:19Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > Because the naming conventions are different, the situation is confused in the other parts of the earth that are subject to tropical cyclones (tropical storms, hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons). The lists in some areas are not alphabetical, the naming conventions have changed over the years in some areas, and some areas have “circular” lists (i.e., they don’t start over again at the beginning of each season, but carry on where they left off the season before). I believe that the Fiji area uses a circular alphabetical list, so a Z name like Zoe could come at any stage in the season and would be followed by an A name. Ah, that makes sense. I remembered hearing about TC Zoe, and thinking it had been in the Australia region, I did some research and found [this](http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/cyc.shtml) which shows that Australia gets around 10 per year. I then did a search on “Cyclone Zoe” and found it, but hadn’t considered that naming conventions might change. ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/11 "2005-08-30T13:11:46Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > For the 2006 North Atlantic storms, both my first name (nickname) and my wife’s are on the list. But they start on the late end of the alphabet, so even though the name list is recycled every 6 years for the NA. It seems like a list of every storm ever named, under the Atlantic storm naming convention, would be a small, easily maintained list. I’m surprised there isn’t one handy. Since they are recycled, what name has been used most often? Used but never retired? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/12 "2005-08-30T13:55:34Z")
I thought they \*did \*retire them if they made it to hurricane status. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/13 "2005-08-30T15:13:11Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > I thought they \*did \*retire them if they made it to hurricane status. I believe that names are only retired if a hurricane causes widespread death and destruction. Some hurricanes are swept harmlessly out to sea, and others strike relatively unpopulated areas. ---
**Author:** ![KeithT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@KeithT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KeithT)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/14 "2005-08-30T16:01:49Z")
> [@RM Mentock](#): > > Since they are recycled, what name has been used most often? Used but never retired? [Arlene](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Arlene) ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/15 "2005-08-30T16:37:35Z")
Is the government missing out by not selling naming rights to hurricanes. I know you may not want your product associated with death and destruction but think of the branding you would achieve in a short time. How many times has the word Katerina been broadcast? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/16 "2005-08-30T19:42:26Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Is the government missing out by not selling naming rights to hurricanes. > > I know you may not want your product associated with death and destruction but think of the branding you would achieve in a short time. How many times has the word Katerina been broadcast? Makes as much sense as bowl games, I guess. “Run! Hurricane [Galleryfurniture.com](http://Galleryfurniture.com) is coming!” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/17 "2005-08-30T21:05:29Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I know you may not want your product associated with death and destruction but think of the branding you would achieve in a short time. How many times has the word Katerina been broadcast? Not much. But _Katrina_ is another story… ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/18 "2005-08-30T22:02:28Z")
> [@RM Mentock](#): > > It seems like a list of every storm ever named, under the Atlantic storm naming convention, would be a small, easily maintained list. I’m surprised there isn’t one handy. > > Since they are recycled, what name has been used most often? Used but never retired? [It’s really not that hard to find the list.](http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/19 "2005-08-30T22:57:41Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Is the government missing out by not selling naming rights to hurricanes. > > I know you may not want your product associated with death and destruction but think of the branding you would achieve in a short time… Better yet, I’m sure there are those that _do_ want to be associated with death and destruction. Think “Hurricane _The Exorcism of Emily Rose_” or “Hurricane NO FEAR”. D ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hurricane-is-the-highest-alphabeticallly/319210/20 "2005-08-31T01:13:00Z")
> [@paperbackwriter](#): > > [It’s really not that hard to find the list.](http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml) Yeah, that list is really easy to find. Unfortunately, it bears little resemblance to the list that **RM Mentock** was actually looking for.