Atlantic hurricanes are never named after the letter Q
To keep emergency alerts clear across three different languages, meteorologists skip five letters of the alphabet, ensuring every storm name is easy to pronounce and recognize.
The World Meteorological Organization maintains a rigid sequence of six rotating lists to name Atlantic storms, but the alphabet always stops short at the letter V. Because these names must be easily understood by speakers of English, Spanish, and French across the Caribbean and North America, the letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z are omitted entirely. Finding distinct, culturally recognizable names starting with these letters is remarkably difficult, so the lists simply jump from Victor to Wilfred. This international compromise ensures that in the heat of a disaster, a name like 'Quentin' isn't confused for something else through a crackling radio or a heavy accent.