What Happens if we run Out of Hurricane Names?

Every year 21 names are allocated for tropical storms in the Atlantic Ocean. The letters range from A to P and R to T and W. The letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z and not used and the names switch between male and female names.

This year is active so far, so what happens if we run out of names?

Should we exhaust our current list, we will begin using the letters of the Greek alphabet. Names like Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and so on.

The last time this was done was during the 2005 season.

Storm names are chosen by the World Meteorological Organization. For Atlantic hurricanes, there is a list of male and female names that are used on a six-year rotation.

If a storm causes a lot of damage or numerous fatalities, the name is retired.