Forecasters Turn to Greek Alphabet After Storm Names Run Out
Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2020 2:41 pm
Hurricane Teddy, center, in the Atlantic; tropical depression 22, likely to be named Beta, left, in the Gulf of Mexico; the remnants of Paulette, top right; and Tropical Storm Wilfred, lower right, are seen in this image provided by NOAA, Sept. 18, 2020.
Weather forecasters have started using the Greek alphabet to designate new storms after running out of conventional names.
The U.S. National Weather Service says Tropical Storm Wilfred formed Friday in the eastern Atlantic, followed by Subtropical Storm Alpha off the coast of Portugal a short time later.
Meanwhile, forecasters say tropical depression 22 in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to be named Beta later Friday. At last report, the storm was about 400 kilometers southeast of the Texas-Mexico border and could become a hurricane threatening the U.S. Gulf Coast in the next few days.
The threat comes days after Hurricane Sally came ashore in the southern U.S. as a Category 2 hurricane, and less than a month after the destructive Hurricane Laura came ashore in Louisiana. Meanwhile, Hurricane Teddy is headed toward Bermuda, which took a direct hit from Paulette earlier this week.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Wilfred poses no threat to land.
Weather officials say Alpha became the first Greek-named storm since 2005. That year the named storms made it all the way to Zeta, the end of the Greek alphabet, the only time on record that has happened.