MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — The practice of naming tropical cyclones dates back hundreds of years. In the 1800s, hurricanes were named after Saints, like Hurricane Santa Ana which affected Puerto Rico in 1825. It wasn’t until the early 1950s that the United States began using solely female names to title hurricanes. This naming process continued until 1979. In that year, male and female names were included in the lists for Atlantic Basin storms.
Of the hundreds of storms over the last seven decades, only 94 have been considered destructive enough that the future use of their names would be insensitive. Hurricane Ida of 2021 is the latest to join this list of retired names.
For Atlantic tropical cyclones, there is an established list of storms that is used in a six-year cycle. In other words, the same list of storms is used every sixth year. A storm name is retired from future use when it is determined that continued use of the name would be inappropriate. A retirement is used for storms that have caused either a significant loss of life or property damage. When this occurs, a committee of the World Meteorological Organization convenes, formally retires the name and replaces the name with another starting with the same letter. For example, the name “Ida” will be replaced in 2027 with “Imani.”
History tells us to watch out for the I-storms. Of the 94 retired storm names, 12 have started with the letter “I.” This is not entirely surprising. With “I” coinciding with the ninth named storm, we would typically expect this storm to form during the most active months of the season.
| STORM NAME | YEAR RETIRED |
|---|---|
| Agnes | 1972 |
| Alicia | 1983 |
| Allen | 1980 |
| Allison | 2001 |
| Andrew | 1992 |
| Anita | 1977 |
| Audrey | 1957 |
| Betsy | 1965 |
| Beulah | 1967 |
| Bob | 1991 |
| Camille | 1969 |
| Carla | 1961 |
| Carmen | 1974 |
| Carol | 1954 |
| Celia | 1970 |
| Cesar | 1996 |
| Charley | 2004 |
| Cleo | 1964 |
| Connie | 1955 |
| David | 1979 |
| Dean | 2007 |
| Dennis | 2005 |
| Diana | 1990 |
| Diane | 1955 |
| Donna | 1960 |
| Dora | 1964 |
| Dorian | 2019 |
| Edna | 1954 |
| Elena | 1985 |
| eloise | 1975 |
| Erika | 2015 |
| Eta | 2020 |
| Fabian | 2003 |
| Felix | 2007 |
| Fifi | 1974 |
| Flora | 1963 |
| Florence | 2018 |
| Floyd | 1999 |
| Fran | 1996 |
| Frances | 2004 |
| Frederic | 1979 |
| Georges | 1998 |
| Gilbert | 1988 |
| Gloria | 1985 |
| Greta | 1978 |
| Gustav | 2008 |
| Harvey | 2017 |
| Hattie | 1961 |
| Hazel | 1954 |
| Hilda | 1964 |
| Hortense | 1996 |
| Hugo | 1989 |
| Ida | 2021 |
| Igor | 2010 |
| Ike | 2008 |
| Inez | 1966 |
| Ingrid | 2013 |
| Ione | 1955 |
| Iota | 2020 |
| Irene | 2011 |
| Iris | 2001 |
| Irma | 2017 |
| Isabel | 2003 |
| Isidore | 2002 |
| Ivan | 2004 |
| Janey | 1955 |
| Jeanne | 2004 |
| Joan | 1988 |
| Joaquin | 2015 |
| Juan | 2003 |
| Katrina | 2005 |
| Keith | 2000 |
| Klaus | 1990 |
| Laura | 2020 |
| Lenny | 1999 |
| Lili | 2002 |
| Luis | 1995 |
| Maria | 2017 |
| Marilyn | 1995 |
| Matthew | 2016 |
| Michael | 2018 |
| Michelle | 2001 |
| Mitch | 1998 |
| Nate | 2017 |
| Noel | 2007 |
| Opal | 1995 |
| Otto | 2016 |
| Paloma | 2008 |
| Rita | 2005 |
| Roxanne | 1995 |
| Sandy | 2012 |
| Stan | 2005 |
| Tomas | 2010 |
| Wilma | 2005 |
