So 2020: New Storm Forms, Named Alpha Because We’ve Run Out Of Letters

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Satellite images of storms forming in the Atlantic Ocean. Tropical Storm Wilfred is the last named storm of the 2020 season using the English alphabet.





Courtesy of NOAA



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Courtesy of NOAA





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Subtropical Storm Alpha has formed off the coast of Portugal and is expected to be a short-lived storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.





Courtesy of NOAA



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Subtropical Storm Alpha has formed off the coast of Portugal and is expected to be a short-lived storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.


Courtesy of NOAA

Storms that are particularly deadly or costly often have their storm names retired by the WMO so they’re never used again.

The rotating list of storm names is reused every six years. But this week, the WMO said that would not be the case with Greek-letter storms, because of their relative rarity.

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