The upcoming tropical storm in the Atlantic Ocean will be named Dolly, a designation that occurs coincidentally following the recent death of country music legend Dolly Parton.
The naming of storm systems is governed by procedures established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). These lists of names are reused every six years and are assigned alphabetically, alternating between male and female names for the Atlantic region.
This hurricane season has already seen several named storms. Tropical Storm Arthur made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast in June, followed by Tropical Storm Bertha in July, which brought rain to Louisiana and Texas. Earlier in August, Tropical Storm Cristobal formed and dissipated quickly in the Atlantic.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami are currently monitoring a weather system off the coast of Africa. Early Wednesday, they indicated that conditions were somewhat favorable for this area of thunderstorms, located south of the Cabo Verde Islands, to develop into a tropical depression within the next week.
Should this system strengthen to the point where it has maximum sustained winds of at least 39 mph, it would officially be designated Tropical Storm Dolly. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted a below-average Atlantic hurricane season this year, attributing this forecast to the El Niño phenomenon. NOAA's projection includes eight to 14 named storms, with three to six expected to become hurricanes, and one to three of those potentially intensifying into major hurricanes.
Weather agencies, including the National Hurricane Center, utilize storm names to facilitate clear communication of warnings to the public and to prevent confusion. The WMO emphasizes that names are chosen for their brevity, ease of pronunciation, and familiarity within the regions where the storms occur. The organization convenes regularly to review potential names, and certain names are retired if they are associated with particularly destructive or deadly storms to avoid causing undue sensitivity.