Most named storms in a single year

Storm events are grouped into four broad categories based on their wind speed: easterly wave, tropical depression, tropical storm and, depending on the location, the most extreme examples are known as hurricanes (Atlantic Ocean), typhoons (West Pacific Ocean) or cyclones (Indian Ocean). Storms are given a name once they reach the status of tropical storm, i.e., sustained winds of 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph) or higher – a convention that arose in the 1950s in order to simplify communication and to make it easier for the public to understand weather warnings. Globally, the most named storms in a calendar year is 104 recorded in the year 2020.

This tally was calculated by scientists at Colorado State University's Department of Atmospheric Science using US warning agency data from the National Hurricane Center for the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center for the central North Pacific, and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center for the rest of the global basins.

In total, the duration of the 104 named storms was approximately 380.25 days.

The next most named storms in a year was 103 in 2018 and 101 in 1992. Their global data-set begins in 1980 when storm monitoring became more reliable and consistent thanks to the proliferation of geostationary satellites.

The most named storms arising specifically in the Atlantic Ocean in one year was 30, also in 2020. For the Pacific, the record is 39, logged in the West Pacific Basin in 1964.

The letters Q, U, X, Y, Z are generally not used owing to a lack of names that start with those letters. If the number of storms in a year exceeds 21, the modern practice is to start naming storms after letters of the Greek alphabet. Initially, all storms were given female names (perhaps following maritime tradition), but after this convention came under fire for reinforcing sexist stereotypes, the World Meteorological Organization revised this policy in 1979 and began to alternate between male and female names.