Here's why some storm names are retired The only time there is a change to the list of names is if a name is retired, a decision made by WMO's hurricane committee, which includes representatives from 28 nations. The WMO’s hurricane committee met in March and retired four storm names, including 2019’s Hurricane Dorian, and hurricanes Laura, Eta and Iota from the 2020 season. Countries can petition the WMO each year to erase the names of particularly heinous hurricanes from the six-year rotating list. When replacing a name, the WMO tries to select storm names relevant to the storm's geographical location.