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Storms Alpha and Beta form: Hurricane season 2020 has been so busy, we have to use Greek letters

For only the second time in history, the National Hurricane Center moved into the Greek alphabet for storm names as the season's 22nd storm threatens the Gulf Coast.

Tropical Storm Wilfred formed Friday in the Atlantic, prompting the hurricane center to advise, "get out the Greek alphabet for the rest of 2020."

Not long after, subtropical storm Alpha formed near Portugal. On Friday evening, Tropical Depression 22 became Tropical Storm Beta in the Gulf of Mexico.

All 21 storm names pre-approved for the season by the World Meteorological Organization have been used. The prolific and deadly 2005 hurricane season was the only other time the Greek alphabet has been brought out, and there were six storms: Tropical Storm Alpha, Hurricane Beta, Tropical Storm Gamma, Tropical Storm Delta, Hurricane Epsilon and Tropical Storm Zeta.

Like many of the storms this season, Wilfred is the earliest "W" storm on record.

Wilfred was centered about 735 miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands on Friday evening and was moving west-northwest near 18 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Slight strengthening was possible on Friday, but the center said weakening should start over the weekend.

Alpha was about 120 miles north-northeast of Lisbon, Portugal, with winds up to 45 mph as it moved northeast at 17 mph. Although it made landfall in Portugal Friday, forecasters expect it to dissipate Saturday.

So, what happens if the prolific hurricane season runs through the 24 letters in the Greek alphabet?

"No plan at the moment," said Clare Nullis, media officer in the WMO's strategic communications office. "We will proceed through the Greek alphabet first!"

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Tropical Storm Beta tracking toward Texas

The Gulf storm intensified into a tropical storm Friday, and may become a hurricane on Sunday as it track toward the coast of southern Texas.

The storm was centered about 335 miles east-northeast of Tampico, Mexico, and 280 miles east-southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande ,the hurricane center said on Friday evening. The storm was moving to the north-northeast at about 9 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.

"There is an increasing risk of heavy rainfall and flooding along the northwest Gulf Coast Sunday through at least the middle of next week as Beta is forecast to move slowly toward and along or offshore of the coast through that time," the Hurricane Center said Friday night.

For south Louisiana, tides will be 2 to 3 feet above normal this weekend. The National Weather Service warned the flooding could close roads along the coast.

In Texas, coastal flood advisories are in effect through Tuesday, with the risks increasing starting Sunday as the storm is forecast to move slowly near the coast.

How are storms named?

The naming convention for Atlantic storms began in 1953.

An international committee of the meteorological organization approves six lists of names, which are rotated every year. The list used this year will be used again in 2026, with the exception of any names the group decides to retire.

For example, it's likely that the name Laura will be retired, because of Hurricane Laura's impacts in the U.S. and Caribbean, including more than 50 deaths.

Here's the Greek alphabet storm list

Here's the list of 24 names next up in the center's rotation after Wilfred:

  • Alpha

  • Beta

  • Gamma

  • Delta

  • Epsilon

  • Zeta

  • Eta

  • Theta

  • Iota

  • Kappa

  • Lambda

  • Mu

  • Nu

  • Xi

  • Omicron

  • Pi

  • Rho

  • Sigma

  • Tau

  • Upsilon

  • Phi

  • Chi

  • Psi

  • Omega

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Storms Alpha and Beta form: Greek letters for hurricane season 2020