The next tropical storm expected to form in the Atlantic Ocean will be named 'Dolly' and may appear in the coming days. However, although the American country singer, Dolly Parton, passed away on Tuesday, the storm's name is not a tribute, but a simple coincidence.
According to USA Today, the United States National Hurricane Center is monitoring a tropical wave that has the potential to become the fourth named storm in the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season. This wave, located in the open Atlantic, may receive a name by August 27, but the name 'Dolly' was assigned 30 years ago and has no relation to Dolly Parton's death on August 25.
The National Hurricane Center clarified that there is no intention of skipping the name 'Dolly' if the expected tropical storm materializes, as the naming of tropical storms and the timing of their use are beyond control. The source reported that, instead, there is a rigorous procedure established by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization.
It is important to note that the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which is a United Nations agency, is responsible for defining the names of hurricanes and tropical cyclones globally. The names used in the Atlantic and East Pacific are drawn from six rotating alphabetical lists managed by a WMO committee, and these lists are repeated every seven years.
After each season, the committee evaluates whether any storm name should be removed from the list due to its extreme severity, including deaths and damage, making it insensitive to reuse. When a name is removed, the committee selects a substitute, opting for short and easy-to-pronounce names. The name 'Dolly' was included in the 1996 rotating list to replace the name Diana, a hurricane that caused 139 deaths in Mexico in 1990.
The American composer, singer, and actress Dolly Parton died on Tuesday at the age of 80, as announced by her nephew Brian Seaver on behalf of the family via a social media video. Seaver, who was responsible for Parton's security for the last two decades, stated that 'Dolly opened doors for generations of singers, composers, musicians, and dreamers from all walks of life and across all continents. Following her example, we believed everything was possible.'
Later, her representatives disclosed that the singer died after a 'brief battle with cancer.' A statement mentioned that 'After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly passed away today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, surrounded by her loved ones.'
According to People, the artist had been hospitalized four days before her death, on the previous Friday, August 21. After the announcement of her death, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the flag to be flown at half-mast across the country for one week. Trump expressed his condolences in a social media message, stating: 'I am very sorry to report that Dolly Parton, one of the greatest country singers and in music in general, of all time, has just passed away. It is a true loss for millions of people. There has never been anyone like her, nor will there be.'
Known as the 'Queen of Country,' Dolly Parton accumulated a catalog of hundreds of songs, achieving the record of 25 number one singles on the US country chart and 47 albums in the top 10 of the same genre. She also achieved success on the pop charts with '9 to 5,' which reached number one in the United States in 1980.
Nicknamed the 'Queen of Country,' she balanced her musical career with acting, receiving two Golden Globe nominations, and her literacy program 'Imagination Library' donated over 150 million books to children. Dolly Parton made her debut on record in 1967 with the album 'Hello, I'm Dolly,' which was the first of her 50 studio albums. Throughout her career, she received 11 Grammy Awards, three Emmy Awards, one honorary Oscar, and a Tony.