The hurricane season in the Dominican Republic officially begins on June 1st and runs through then end of November, peaking in the month of September. A hurricane begins as a tropical depression, which can build up and become a tropical storm before turning into a hurricane of category 1 to 5 strength with sustained wind speed of 119 kph to 250 kph. The storm receives its name from a pre-selected list when the tropical depression turns into a tropical storm. There are 6 lists of names, created by the National Hurricane Center in the early 1950s, which are used on rotation. If a name has been used for a particularly severe and devastating hurricane, that name is taken off the list, which happened with e.g. George and Katrina.
from: http://ezinearticles.com/?Hurricane-Season-In-the-Dominican-Republic&id=8012536
