Here's why tropical system Agatha could be renamed Alex

Tropical systems will get a new name once they cross over into another hurricane basin.

Posted 2:06 p.m. May 31, 2022 — Updated 7:54 p.m. May 31, 2022

Peta Sheerwood

, WRAL meteorologist

The Eastern Pacific’s first hurricane of the 2022 hurricane season, Agatha, formed over the weekend and could get a new name if it strengthens in the Atlantic Hurricane Basin.

Hurricane Agatha weakened upon landfall across southern Mexico Monday and is expected to continue to weaken over Mexico. It will continue to track eastward and could redevelop near the Yucatan Peninsula, over the Gulf of Mexico. There is a 70% chance of development within the next five days.

Tropical alerts as of Friday, June 3, 2022

If there is redevelopment and this system becomes a tropical storm (maximum sustained winds at 39 mph or greater) in the Atlantic Hurricane Basin, it will take on a new name, Alex.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) facilitates naming tropical cyclones. Tropical cyclone names are divided by 10 different regions across the world. We follow the names on the Atlantic list. Tropical systems will get a new name once they cross over into another hurricane basin.

WMO classifies the 10 different regions as:

Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and the North Atlantic Names
Eastern North Pacific Names
Central North Pacific Names
Western North Pacific and the South China Sea Names
Australian Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre's (TCWC) Area of Responsibility
Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre Nadi's Area of Responsibility
Port Moresby Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre's Area of Responsibility
Jakarta Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre's Area of Responsibility
Northern Indian Ocean Names - Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal
Southwest Indian Ocean Names

In September 2020, Nana developed into a tropical storm south of Jamaica then made landfall as a Cat. 1 hurricane in Belize. The storm then weakened over land and entered the Pacific Ocean, where it redeveloped into a tropical storm. It then took on the Eastern Pacific name, Julio.

There are still a lot of questions with the tropical system Agatha. For example, where will it track? How strong will it get? The reality is, models are in big disagreement. As of now, the European model tracks the system over Florida and up the eastern coastline Sunday into Monday, while the GFS keeps the system tracking closer to the Bahamas and over the open waters in the Atlantic.