The Etymology of Hurricanes

Although it is a meaningless topic, especially considering the circumstances, I have always wondered how hurricanes are named.

It’s a pretty easy system. Human names are given to storms to make them easily distinguishable. The first storm of the year begins with an “A” name (Andrew), the second a “B,” and so on and so forth. Katrina, beginning with a “K,” is therefore the eleventh tropical storm from the Atlantic this year. The names are determined by the World Meteorological Organization, which began using this system during World War II. I found this information on this site, where there is a list names for the future and additional information on the topic.