Retired hurricane names. These will never, ever be used again. Is your name on the list?
Having your name associated with a tropical storm could be a compliment or a curse, especially if the storm had devastating effects.
Take the monster and fatal storms of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season: Hurricanes Florence, with millions of damage in the Carolinas, and Michael, which destroyed parts of the Panhandle when it made landfall.
In recent years, Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate were retired from hurricane naming circulation because of their devastation — Harvey in Texas, Irma in Florida, Maria in Puerto Rico and Nate in the Gulf Coast. In 2022 after Hurricane Ian roared through Southwest Florida causing millions in damage, the moniker Ian was officially retired months later.
So long, farewell. There will never ever be another hurricane named Ian
What is it about this letter? When it comes to retired hurricane names, the 'I's have it
The Atlantic hurricane season kicks off June 1 through Nov. 30. The season, however, has started earlier with subtropical storms or storm activity for the past seven years. And in 2020, hurricane season was a record for the number of storms − so much so that National Hurricane Center used the Greek alphabet for certain storms and tropic activity.
Check back with the USA TODAY Network-Florida for daily hurricane coverage.
Below are some things to know about retired hurricane names. Is your name on this list?
96 hurricane names have been retired since 1954
In total, 96 names have been retired from the Atlantic basin list since 1954, when storms began to be named under the current system.
Here is an alphabetical list of retired names and the year they hit:
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 (from the Greek alphabet)
Fabian, 2003
Felix, 2007
Fifi, 1974
Fiona, 2022
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
Ian, 2022
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
Janet, 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
Deadly storms: Do you remember these? List of hurricanes tat were especially devastating
That one time Hurricane Nana was on the list. Seriously? Can Tropical Storm Aunt Gina or Uncle Lou be far behind?
“I” is the most retired letter
The letter “I” is the most retired letter of the alphabet when it comes to hurricane names. After Ian, there have been 14 retired I-lettered hurricane names.
Ione, 1955
Inez, 1966
Iris, 2001
Isidore, 2002
Isabel, 2003
Ivan, 2004
Ike, 2008
Igor, 2010
Irene, 2011
Ingrid, 2013
Irma, 2017
Iota, 2020 (from the Greek alphabet)
Ida, 2021
"F" is the second-most retired letter
The letter “F” follows behind with 10 retired names.
Fabian, 2003
Felix, 2007
Fifi, 1974
Fiona, 2022
Flora, 1963
Florence, 2018
Floyd, 1999
Fran, 1996
Frances, 2004
Frederic, 1979
Alternate hurricane names
Each list of names used during the Atlantic hurricane season consists of 21 names, but during abnormally active seasons, the WMO has an alternate list of names for each basin.
Previously, the Greek alphabet was used to name storms if all of the initial 21 names were used. This naming convention was scrapped after 2020 when several Greek-letter storms were retired.
Adria
Braylen
Caridad
Deshawn
Emery
Foster
Gemma
Heath
Isla
Jacobus
Kenzie
Lucio
Makayla
Nolan
Orlanda
Pax
Ronin
Sophie
Tayshaun
Viviana
Will
When did we start naming hurricanes?
In 1953, the U.S. began using female names for hurricanes; by 1979, male and female names were used. The names alternate between male and female.
There are no Q, U, X, Y or Z names because of the lack of usable names that begin with those letters.
What are the names for 2023 Atlantic hurricane season?
Arlene
Bret
Cindy
Don
Emily
Franklin
Gert
Harold
Idalia
Jose
Katia
Lee
Margot
Nigel
Ophelia
Philippe
Rina
Sean
Tammy
Vince
Whitney
Contributing: Mark Bickel, USA TODAY Network-Florida
Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspape.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Hurricane season in Florida: Retired names including Greek alphabet