We’re already well into the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, and storm trackers are closely watching what forms near Cape Verde, off the west coast of Africa, that may become the next big storm. So far, America has been hit by four tropical storms. The first three were named Arthur, Bertha and Cristobal, and while none of them strengthened into hurricanes, they did cause damage to Florida and Texas.
The next tropical storm, which was officially named Thursday morning, is called Dolly. This strange coincidence has nothing to do with Dolly Parton, the singer-songwriter, actress and philanthropist who died Tuesday morning at the age of 80. The naming of tropical storms and hurricanes is a job for the World Meteorological Organization, which rotates them out every six years and retires them after a given storm causes too much destruction. After all, it would be weird and potentially triggering to ever see another Hurricane Katrina.
