Is Tropical Storm Dolly named after Dolly Parton? No. Here’s how storm names are picked.

Tropical Storm Dolly forms in the Atlantic Ocean

The National Hurricane Center confirmed Thursday morning that Tropical Storm Dolly has officially formed in the Atlantic, marking the fourth named storm of the 2026 season. FOX 35 Storm Team Meteorologist Brooks Garner joined Hayden Wiggs to break down what Floridians need to know.

Tropical Storm Dolly formed on Thursday in the Atlantic Ocean, which coincidentally comes days after the death of country legend Dolly Parton.

Parton, 80, died earlier this week in a Nashville, Tenn., hospital following recent health issues and a brief cancer fight, according to statements from her family and her publicist.

Was Tropical Storm Dolly named after Parton? No, not directly.

What they’re saying:

“The timing of the use of the name Dolly for this storm is purely coincidental,” the NHC said in its public discussion of Tropical Storm Dolly.

“The name Dolly replaced Diana after the 1990 hurricane season and was first used in 1996.”

Here’s how tropical storm names work

There are 21 storm names issued ahead of every hurricane season – and they rotate every six years. That means the 2026 hurricane names will again be used in 2032, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The names are used to help track multiple storms being monitored during the season, especially if two or more storms develop at the same time, as well as to help keep clear communication between government agencies, meteorologists and forecasters, and the public about a specific storm.

Here are the names for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season:

Tropical storms are defined as a cyclone that has reached maximum sustained surface winds of 39-73 mph. Storm names are only issued when a cyclone reaches the tropical storm threshold.

This year, we’ve had four named storms: Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, and now, Dolly.

After Dolly, the next three names on the list are Edourard, Fay, and Gonzalo.

Who picks the hurricane storm names?

The hurricane storm names are decided by an international body of forecasters and the World Meteorological Organization. They are used to help meteorologists, forecasters, journalists, and the public communicate warnings and updates about a specific storm.

“Assigning names to tropical cyclones makes tracking and discussing specific storms more straightforward, especially when multiple storms are active simultaneously. Naming also helps to avoid confusion among meteorologists, media, emergency management agencies and the public,” the WMO said on its website. 

There are four factors considered when coming up with the names:

• Short in character length for ease of use in communication
• Easy to pronounce
• Appropriate significance in different languages
• Uniqueness – same names cannot be used in other regions.