How Pacific Storms Get Their Names

How Naming Works In The Pacific

Eight agencies name Pacific storms. Only some of their lists start over each January.

A storm takes its name from whoever's zone it is in when it first reaches tropical-storm strength, 39 mph. It keeps that name for life, wherever it goes.

Restarts At A Every YearEastern Pacific · Philippines

Keeps Going From The Last StormCentral Pacific · Western Pacific · Australia · Indonesia · Papua New Guinea · South Pacific

Adds A Second, Local NamePhilippines only. The international name does not change.

Click a zone or a name. Blue lists restart each year; gold lists keep going. Zone edges follow the official boundaries; northern and southern limits are trimmed to keep the map readable.

Restart, Or Keep Going?

Every list runs in order. The difference is what happens at New Year. Blue lists throw away their unused names and start the next list at A. Gold lists pick up exactly where the last storm left off, even years later.

Eastern Pacific

NHC, Miami · 6 lists of 24, reused every 6 yearsRestarts at A

2025 stopped at Sonia. Tico through Zelda were never used, and they don't carry over. On January 1 a different list started at Amanda.

Central Pacific

CPHC, Honolulu · 4 lists of 12 Hawaiian namesKeeps going

No storm was named in the Central Pacific from 2020 through 2023, so the list sat at Hone for five years. Hawaiian has only 12 letters (A E H I K L M N O P U W), which is why the lists are so short. After Wale comes list 2, starting at Aka.

Western Pacific

JMA, Tokyo · 140 namesKeeps going

Fourteen Typhoon Committee members each gave 10 names. They are used in a fixed order that is not alphabetical, and many are not people's names.

Philippines

PAGASA, Manila · 4 sets of 25Restarts at A

This is a second name. Typhoon Hagupit was also Caloy once it entered the Philippine box.

Australia

Bureau of Meteorology · one A–Z list in 5 sections, alternating male and femaleKeeps going

Southern Hemisphere seasons run from July to June. The 2026–27 season opens with Owen, the next name after Narelle.

Crossing A Line Never Changes The Name

Only the word in front of it changes. Two real tracks from this map's data show how it works.

Dora 2023: named from the Eastern Pacific list Lala 2026: named from the Hawaiian list

Named onceThe name comes from the zone where the storm first reaches 39 mph. A depression that drifts across a line before it strengthens takes the new zone's list. Lala began as a disturbance east of 140°W but became a storm in the Central Pacific, so it got a Hawaiian name.
Kept for lifeDora was named by Miami in 2023, crossed 140°W, then crossed 180°. It became Typhoon Dora, but it was still Dora.
One exception: a second nameA storm inside the Philippine box also gets a PAGASA name. Both names are used at the same time.
Retired namesVery deadly or costly names are removed and replaced. PAGASA replaced four 2022 names with Ada, Francisco, Kiyapo and Pilandok for 2026. Papua New Guinea retires every name after a single use.

2026

Why Hawaii Saw Two "L" Storms In One Summer

Lowell and Lala came from two different lists that happened to be on the same letter.

The Eastern Pacific list restarted at Amanda in June, and Lowell was its 12th storm. The Hawaiian list never restarts. It came into 2026 already at L, carried over from Iona and Keli in 2025. Lala became a storm west of 140°W and took the next Hawaiian name. Lowell became a storm east of 140°W and kept its name all the way to Kauai.

As of late September 2026, the two lists are still out of step: the Eastern Pacific is at P (Polo, off Mexico) and the Central Pacific is at N (Nolo, near the Big Island).

The Numbers Behind The Names

Every depression gets a number before it gets a name, and many never get a name. Numbers restart each year (each season in the south). The letter shows who numbered it.

12E

Eastern Pacific, from NHC. Lowell was 12E.

01C

Central Pacific, from CPHC. Lala was 01C.

21W

Western Pacific, from the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

05F

South Pacific disturbances, from Fiji.