With the approach of each Atlantic hurricane season, the World Meteorological Organization releases a list of names to be used for potential storms that year.
The list is one of six that rotate every six years.
Names tend to remain on their respective lists for years. Only when a storm causes extreme property damage and loss of life is its name retired and a new name beginning with that letter placed in that slot.
Some names, however, are so far down the list that they have almost no history at all. As the 21st and final name on the list for 2024, William has never been used with an Atlantic storm in all the years the current naming system has been in place.
While named storms from the end of a list are used less often, in some years there have been more named storms than appear on that year’s list.
In 2020, for example, the Atlantic hurricane season became the busiest on record and included 30 named tropical storms.
After Tropical Storm Wilfred dispersed on September 21, following storms were named using the letters Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, and Iota from the Greek alphabet. Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, and Iota all grew into hurricanes.
Iota concluded the season as a Category 4 storm in mid-November that caused at least 84 deaths.
Early predictions for the 2024 hurricane season pointed to a very active season with a high probability that William would become a named storm.
In fact, the University of Pennsylvania predicted a record-breaking season with as many as 33 named storms.
It was not to be. William fell in a slot three positions beyond Sara, the last named storm of 2024.
Although there has never been a Hurricane William, two cyclones in the South Pacific were named William in 1983 and 1994.
If you want to research storms in other regions of the world, check out the worldwide lists here. Cyclones are no different from hurricanes in terms of weather characteristics and strength, but they have the distinction of circulating in a clockwise manner, whereas hurricanes rotate counterclockwise.
This is due to the storms’ respective positions in the southern and northern hemispheres and the influence of the Coriolis effect
Phases of Tropical Cyclones
All named storms from each year’s list are a form of tropical cyclone, not to be confused with the named cyclones mentioned above. Anywhere in the world, a cyclone by definition is 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 William will make its debut.
Phase 3: Hurricane
If that speed reaches 74 mph, Hurricane William will enter the record books for the first time in history.
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.
The Power of Preparedness
Ensure your family is protected in the face of unexpected challenges with our Disaster Preparedness Guide.
Topics Include:
— Family Communication Plan
— Evacuation Plans
— Care for Pets
— Weather Monitoring
Download Our Disaster Preparedness Guide!
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When Was Hurricane William?
As of yet, there has not been a Hurricane William. Had preseason hurricane models proven true, 2024 would have been the first year William became a hurricane. But models are only educated guesses.
A season can also prove to be relatively inactive, falling far below a W threshold. In 1982, for example, only five names were used the entire season.
Where Did Hurricane William Hit?
No actual Hurricane William has made landfall in the Atlantic. If you look at an aggregate chart of the paths of other named storms in the Atlantic, you can get an idea of the general range of such landfalls.
What Category Was Hurricane William?
With no Hurricane William on record, there is no category to report for this series of articles. But what does it mean when a category is applied?
Again, the answer is based on wind speed.
- • A Category 1 hurricane has sustained wind speeds of at least 74 mph 10 meters above the ground surface when averaged over a 1-minute period.
- • A Category 1 designation holds up through 95 mph. By the time you reach Category 5, those wind speeds are equal or greater than 157 mph.
- • There’s no top limit. This evaluation system is called the Saffir-Simpson scale.
What Time Will Hurricane William Make Landfall?
If you research, “What time did Hurricane William make landfall?” you will come up dry. More importantly, there is no correlation between the landfall of a historic hurricane and when a current storm system might reach land.
No data from the past will help you prepare if William becomes a significant storm in 2024.
It’s wise to stay up to date on weather forecasts and be aware of a specific storm’s estimated landfall if it is predicted to reach your region. Thanks to satellite and radar imagery, those predictions can be very accurate, giving you plenty of time to prepare.
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 William become available in 2024.
How Many People Died in Hurricane William?
It’s important to remember, had William been a named storm in 2024 it could pose a threat even if it never achieved hurricane status.
Tropical storms that never grew into hurricanes have still created massive rainfall with deadly flooding and mudslides.
What Was the Path of Hurricane William?
If William had developed into a hurricane in 2024, a lot of daily information on its current path would have been available. In many cases, the beginning of such a path is in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa.
As that system moves west across the Atlantic, often in the general direction of the Caribbean, it can strengthen and organize into a tropical storm and then a hurricane.
Convoy of Hope & Hurricanes
Convoy of Hope is a faith-based nonprofit organization serving the poor and hungry in dozens of program countries around the world.
Because natural disasters have such a deep and negative impact on communities, Convoy views disaster response as integral to its larger mission.
Food, water, and other key resources quickly become scarce following hurricanes and other disasters.
In 2024, Convoy celebrated its 30th anniversary.
Convoy has served hundreds of communities impacted by storms, beginning in 1998 with a response to flooding in Del Rio, Texas, that followed that year’s Tropical Storm Charley.
Hurricanes continue to be an annual priority for the organization.
How Convoy of Hope Responds to Disasters
Step 1
The Disaster Services team at Convoy’s World Distribution Center follows weather updates closely throughout hurricane season.
Step 2
Days ahead of a predicted landfall, careful planning pulls together the resources intended for distribution in affected communities.
Step 3
Volunteers and team members pack food, water, cleaning supplies, and more before a convoy of trucks heads toward the disaster zone.
Step 4
After a hurricane has passed and a community’s needs become clear, one or more distribution points can begin operation.
Step 5
With the help of local churches and other organizations, volunteers and Convoy team members offload pallets of supplies from semi-trucks and strategically position them across a large parking lot.
Step 6
Soon, residents are driving by gratefully accepting groceries, bottled water, bags of ice, cleaning supplies, and other resources.
A Case Study: Hurricane Idalia
When Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida on August 30, 2023, it brought sustained winds of 115 mph and created a larger storm surge and higher wind gusts than that part of the Gulf had seen in 125 years.
Some areas — like the island city of Cedar Key — experienced a 9-foot storm surge.
Convoy’s team had been following reports on Idalia closely. Personnel were on the ground in Perry, Florida, by the next day assessing damage and meeting local officials and partners to identify the best ways to meet needs.
Within a week, Convoy had distributed more than 287,000 pounds of relief supplies to tens of thousands of people across the region.
Convoy of Hope Disaster Services responds to natural disasters around the world — earthquakes, floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and drought — offering help and hope to people facing some of the most challenging circumstances in their lives.
The nonprofit, faith-based organization pursues a driving passion to feed the world through children’s feeding initiatives, community outreach, and disaster response.
