Season’s First Storm To Be Named Ana With AM-Hurricane Season

MIAMI (AP) _ The first tropical storm in the 1991 Atlantic hurricane season will be named Ana, followed by Bob, Claudette, Danny, Erika, Fabian, Grace, Henri, Isabel, Juan, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor and Wanda.

Tropical weather systems are given names if they reach wind speeds of 39 mph and become tropical storms. The names reduce confusion if two or more storms occur at the same time. The names have an international flavor because hurricanes often affect several nations and are tracked by foreign weather services.

Names for the list are selected and agreed upon during international meetings of the World Meteorological Organization. The names are recycled every six years, with notorious storms retired from the list. Hurricane Hugo, for example, was retired from the list, and the new name on the list will be Humberto in 1995.