From the National Hurricane Center…. June 1st marks the first day of the Atlantic hurricane season, which will run until November 30. Long-term averages for the number of named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes are 12, 6, and 3, respectively.

The list of names for 2016 is as follows:
Name           Pronunciation    Name            Pronunciation
-------------------------------------------------------------
Alex           AL-leks          Lisa            LEE-suh
Bonnie         BAH-nee          Matthew         MATH-yoo
Colin          KAH-lihn         Nicole          nih-KOHL
Danielle       dan-YELL         Otto            AHT-toh
Earl           URR-ull          Paula           PAHL-luh
Fiona          fee-OH-nuh       Richard         RIH-churd
Gaston         ga-STAWN         Shary           SHAHR-ee
Hermine        her-MEEN         Tobias          toh-BEE-uss
Ian            EE-an            Virgine         vir-JIN-ee
Julia          JOO-lee-uh       Walter          WALL-tur
Karl           KAR-ull

Two tropical cyclones have already formed this year, Hurricane Alex in January and Tropical Storm Bonnie in May. The next named storm that forms this season will be named Colin.

Each ocean basin has a separate set of names. For the Atlantic Ocean basin, names are decided upon by the World Meteorological Organization.