Share A Name With A Hurricane?

For roughly 60 years, the National Hurricane Center has named Atlantic tropical storms. 

"They are now maintained and updated through a strict procedure by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization," according to the NHC's website. 

Names are used in a rotation every six years. This year's list will appear again in 2017.

With one exception:

"When a hurricane causes a lot of damage, the name is retired," said Tom Kines, AccuWeather.com senior meteorologist. "There will never be another Agnes ... or Katrina." 

Additionally, some names on a list are not used.

For example, the name Teresa was eligible for a storm tag in 1979, 1985, 1991, 1997, 2003 and 2009, but never used. The next time it will appear on the list is in 2015.

The Wall Street Journal's website lists a chart with former and upcoming storm names. Do you share a name with a hurricane? Check here. 

Rain on the way

Although Tropical Storm Ophelia gained strength as she traveled toward the Caribbean on Thursday, the girl is not expected to become a hurricane.

Additionally, it's unlikely she'll impact the Pottstown area, said Kines. 

But that doesn't mean the forecast is dry.

A tropical air mass is headed our way from the south, Kines said.

"It's humid," he said on Thursday. "That would be typical for July or August ... It's not typical for the end of September."

Unfortunately, that mass will bring rain to the area for the next several days, he said.

Heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected. Friday alone could bring an inch or more rain.

That's not good news for an already saturated Pottstown.

From Aug. 1, 2011 to today, the borough's had roughly 18 inches of rain, Kines said. 

"Normally, we should have had a little over seven inches of rain," he said. "We've had about two and a half times the normal amount of rain."