The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season finished with 30 total named storms — the most in any year on record — but three of those names will never be used again.
Something else that will never be used again: The Greek alphabet as a backup list for when all the names on the annual storm naming list are used.
"The Greek alphabet will not be used in future because it creates a distraction from the communication of hazard and storm warnings and is potentially confusing," the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced on Wednesday.
Something else that will never be used again: The Greek alphabet as a backup list for when all the names on the annual storm naming list are used.
"The Greek alphabet will not be used in future because it creates a distraction from the communication of hazard and storm warnings and is potentially confusing," the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced on Wednesday.
"There is confusion with some Greek alphabet names when they are translated into other languages used within the Region. The pronunciation of several of the Greek letters (Zeta, Eta, Theta) are similar and occur in succession. In 2020, this resulted in storms with very similar sounding names occurring simultaneously, which led to messaging challenges rather than streamlined and clear communication."
Down there in Alabama, Mississippi and parts of Georgia, lots of people aren't too good with their letters. Too difficult a concept.