Since 1950, hurricane names are officially selected from library sources
and are decided during the international meetings of the World Meteorological
Organization (WHO). The names are chosen to reflect the cultures and languages
found in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Hawaiian regions. The National Hurricane
Center near Miami, Florida, selects the name from one of the six listings for
Region 4 (Atlantic and Caribbean area) when a tropical storm with rotary action
and wind speeds above 39 miles (62 kilometers) per hour
develops. Letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z are not included because of the scarcity of names beginning
with those letters. Once a storm has done great damage, its name is retired
from the six-year list cycle. (The Handy Science Answer Book, compiled by the
Science and Technology department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh)