Will Ian be retired from the hurricane names list and when will it happen?

There will never again be another Hurricane Ian.

It's inevitable. Ian will be retired from the list of hurricane names.

But it's not official.

Yet.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) based in Geneva is responsible for determining the fate of hurricane names.

It was one month ago today (Sept. 28) when Hurricane Ian slammed Southwest Florida's coast and inland areas, killing more than 50 people in Lee County and causing catastrophic damage to homes, businesses, bridges, boats, cars and even closing schools for more than two weeks.

Related: These 3 factors created a 'worst-case scenario' with Ian that proved deadly

All of that adds up to meeting a criteria the WMO uses for deciding if a storm name should be retired or left in the rotation.

According to the WMO website, a storm name is retired if it is considered "so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for obvious reasons of sensitivity."

For sure, Ian's days are numbered.

"The Hurricane Committee covers the entire region (North Atlantic, Caribbean and Latin America) and is chaired by the head of the US National Hurricane Centre," said Clare Nullis, a media officer for the WMO who was reached in Geneva by email for this story.  "The decision to retire names is by a vote — but usually there is a high degree of consensus or unanimity and so it is a quick procedure."

Economic impact on Florida: Was Hurricane Ian the most expensive hurricane to hit Florida? Where Category 4 storm ranks

Once the vote is made and there is approval of retiring a name, the committee will select a replacement name starting with the same letter, Nullis said.

Hurricane names are recycled every six years.

If the committee decides not to retire a name, it remains on the list. If, for some reason, Ian wasn't retired, it would be back on the hurricane names list for the 2028 season.

"There is usually a vote to decide on a replacement name," Nullis said. "We have to ensure that it hasn't been used before, that it isn't used in any other tropical cyclone basin, and that it is easily understandable in a region where English, French and Spanish (and Creole) is spoken, and that it is culturally appropriate."

Storm names starting with the letter 'I' are the most retired names

When (if) Ian is retired from the list, it will be a day of celebration for Southwest Floridians. The last hurricane to hit this part of the state — Irma in 2017 — has been retired. In fact, storm names starting with the letter 'I' are the most retired names.

Nullis said to expect the vote to be made in the spring of 2023.

"I don't know if the date is fixed yet, but it is usually in April — to discuss the 2022 hurricanes and lessons learned," Nullis said. "And how to strengthen forecasts and warning products in the interests of public safety. The naming issue is just a small part of that agenda."

Hurricane Ida is the most recent storm starting with 'I' to be retired. Ida crashed ashore in southeastern Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2021, with maximum sustained winds of around 150 mph, a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. There are similarities between Ida and Ian, helping the cause for retiring Ian.

Jay Johnson, owner of Bubba's Roadhouse & Saloon in Cape Coral, which remains closed, said he will welcome Ian becoming a retiree.

"I think Ian spent 12 hours too long in Southwest Florida," Johnson said.

His family also owns Bert's Bar on Matlacha. It was destroyed. Johnson is also the president of the Lee County Chapter of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.

"If he never comes back that's a good thing," he said.

Did you know?
94 storm names have been retired

There have been 94 names retired from the Atlantic basin list since 1953, when storms began to be named. The 2005 hurricane season has the most retired names (five) for one season, including Hurricane Irma which causes significant damage in Collier County.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Hurricane Ian: Deadly storm meets criteria for WMO to retire name