2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season Names

The 2026 hurricane season, starting June 1, 2026, and ending November 30, 2026, is rapidly approaching.

Here’s the list of names for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season.

2026 hurricane names

The 2026 hurricane name list includes:

Arthur
Bertha
Cristobal
Dolly
Edouard
Fay
Gonzalo

Hanna
Isaias
Josephine
Kyle
Leah
Marco
Nana

Omar
Paulette
Rene
Sally
Teddy
Vicky
Wilfred

When does the 2026 hurricane season start?

The 2026 hurricane season will officially begin on June 1, 2026. The season will end on November 30, 2026.

The dates on the calendar do not determine when hurricanes can form. Historically, some storms have formed before June 1st. The season start and end dates are more like generally guidelines than strict rules.

The National Hurricane Center will begin issuing regular tropical weather outlooks on May 15, 2026.

How are hurricanes named?

Asking yourself how hurricanes get their names? The National Hurricane Center uses six lists of 21 names each, alternating between male and female names. The names are assigned to tropical storms and hurricanes as they form.

The goal of the name lists is to keep names short and easily recognizable. This helps to avoid confusion in weather reports, emergency alerts, and communication between coastal bases and ships.

This system is especially important when multiple storms are active at the same time. It helps people track storms more easily and understand which one might be heading their way.

2026 Atlantic hurricane season names
Arthur
Bertha
Cristobal
Dolly
Edouard
Fay
Gonzalo
Hanna
Isaias
Josephine
Kyle
Leah
Marco
Nana
Omar
Paulette
Rene
Sally
Teddy
Vicky
Wilfred

Source: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml

Why don’t hurricane names start with Q, U, X, Y, or Z?

Hurricane names never start with the letters Q, U, X, Y, or Z because there are simply not enough widely recognized names beginning with those letters.

Are hurricane names reused?

Hurricane name lists are cycled and reused every six years, so the names from 2026 will be back in 2032. However, names can be retired from the list if a storm is so deadly or costly that continued use of the name for storms in the future would be inappropriate.

For example, the name Katrina was retired after the 2006 storm.

Were any hurricane names retired in 2025?

Yes, one name was retired from the hurricane list after the 2025 season. The World Meteorological Organization retired the name Melissa and replaced it with the name Molly in March 2026.

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Written by Graham Lumley

Graham Lumley is the Growth Product Manager at BKV Energy, a retail electricity provider in Texas' deregulated market, where he has worked since 2023. He analyzes customer usage and billing data, helps develop BKV's fixed-rate plans, and creates tools to simplify Texas electricity shopping. He has written over 200 articles on Texas electricity rates, delivery charges, plan types, energy generation, and more to help Texans understand their bills and pay less. With over 10 years of experience in consumer products, marketing, and energy, he explains the Texas electricity market in plain language.