Do you like to study the history of hurricanes? Maybe compare the different levels of impact of hurricanes with the same name?
Just how do those storms get named anyway?
The hurricanes and tropical storms you hear about each Atlantic hurricane season get their names from six lists originated and recycled every six years by the World Meteorological Organization.
A name is retired and replaced when a storm with that name causes extreme property damage and loss of life. Van is the 20th name on the list for 2025.
When you study the name Van, as it relates to storms, you won’t find a lot of information. Why?
• First, names that are this far down the list don’t get used in typical hurricane seasons. The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was a historic exception, running through the entire alphabetic list and adding a series of Greek-lettered storms for a total of 31 tropical and subtropical cyclones.
• Second, Van is a relative newcomer, replacing the name Virginia when it first appeared on the 1983 Atlantic hurricane list. The replacement was not due to any loss of life or destruction caused by a Hurricane Virginia. Rather, both male and female names were used for hurricanes beginning in 1978 for Northern Pacific storms and 1979 for Atlantic storms.
Van’s potential formation in 2025 as a tropical storm or hurricane connects directly to its wind speed.
Phases of Tropical Cyclones
All named storms are a form of tropical cyclone — a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has a closed low-level circulation.
Phase 1: Tropical Depression
Early in a cyclone’s development, as a tropical depression, wind speeds are less than 39 mph.
Tropical depressions are not given names but are numbered and tracked in case they grow into tropical storms or hurricanes.
Phase 2: Tropical Storm
Should a sufficiently powerful weather system develop late in the season with a sustained wind speed of 39 mph, Tropical Storm Van will make its debut.
Phase 3: Hurricane
If that speed reaches 74 mph, Hurricane Van will enter the record books.
If you live in an area where such a storm system is expected, take all necessary precautions, keep up to date on reports of the storm’s path, and don’t underestimate the potential impact to your community.
When Was Hurricane Van?
So far, no storm named Van has made it into the record books.
Where Did Hurricane Van Hit?
There has been no Hurricane Van yet.
But if the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season reaches even two-thirds of the storms recorded in 2020, a Tropical Storm Van or Hurricane Van could become a reality.
What Category Was Hurricane Van?
Van has not been applied to a hurricane yet. When you hear reports of a hurricane’s category, you are hearing a description of wind speed on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
• Category 1: Sustained winds of 74-95 mph.
• Category 2: Sustained winds of 96-110 mph.
• Category 3: Sustained winds of 111-129 mph.
• Category 4: Sustained winds of 130-156 mph.
• Category 5: Sustained winds of 157 mph and higher.
What Time Will Hurricane Van Make Landfall?
There is no correlation between similarly named hurricanes in history, as the records of storms named Van show.
Researching, “What time did Hurricane Van make landfall?” will not help you prepare for a potential Hurricane Van in 2025.
With any current storm predicted to reach your region, stay up to date on weather forecasts and be aware of that specific storm’s estimated landfall.
With any severe storm, don’t make the mistake of waiting until the last minute to reach a safe area.
This article will be updated should more details about Van become available in 2025.
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How Many People Died in Hurricane Van?
No storm named Van has yet caused any loss of life.
What Was the Path of Hurricane Van?
Many Atlantic hurricanes have formed from a tropical wave moving off the coast of West Africa and moving across the ocean into the Caribbean. Other storms have formed in the Gulf of Mexico and impacted the U.S. Gulf Coast, Mexico, Central America, or the Caribbean islands.
Rarely, a storm system from the continental U.S. has moved down into the Gulf and strengthened into a hurricane. No hurricane named Van has been recorded yet.
Convoy of Hope & Hurricanes
Convoy of Hope, a faith-based nonprofit serving the poor in dozens of program countries around the world, responded to its first disaster in 1998 when flooding in Del Rio, Texas, followed that year’s Tropical Storm Charley.
Hurricane response continues to be an annual priority for Convoy.
Convoy’s 2024 response to Hurricane Helene.
Convoy’s 2024 Major Responses
In the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, Hurricane Beryl broke two records — becoming the earliest Category 4 storm on June 30 and the earliest Category 5 on July 1.
Convoy quickly began meeting the needs of communities in Beryl’s path. Beryl’s first effects were felt in the Caribbean, where Convoy served more than 43,000 meals and distributed family food kits, hygiene kits, water filters, solar lamps, and generators.
To view Convoy’s response to Hurricane Ian, watch the video above.
On September 26, Category 4 Hurricane Helene became the strongest recorded hurricane to strike Florida’s Big Bend region.
It was the deadliest hurricane since 2005’s Katrina, with more than 230 fatalities.
By November, Convoy had distributed more than 4 million pounds of resources in 85 communities across Florida and five other impacted states.
Hurricane Milton was the final major storm of the 2024 season and hit Florida with heavy rain and flooding even as the state continued to recover from Helene.
Convoy continued its regional response to include 27 communities recovering from Milton. Nearly 1 million pounds of resources were distributed.
Convoy of Hope Disaster Services responds to natural disasters around the world, offering help and hope to people facing some of the most challenging circumstances in their lives.
Convoy of Hope is a nonprofit, faith-based organization with a driving passion to feed the world through children’s feeding initiatives, community outreach, and disaster response.
