Hurricane names: Ian and Fiona retired from future use
- Published
Destruction in Florida caused by Hurricane Ian in October 2022
After causing so much destruction as hurricanes, we won't see the names Ian or Fiona used for future tropical storms or hurricanes.
These are the latest names to be removed by the World Meteorological Organization Hurricane committee that met this week.
Names are retired from a rotating list of names when they have been so deadly.
Idris will replace the name Ian and Farrah will be used instead of Fiona.
Hurricane Ian was a powerful Category 4 hurricane that tore through Cuba before making landfall in south-western Florida in October 2022.
Causing around 拢91 billion (US $112 billion) in damage with 115 direct and indirect deaths, it was the most costly hurricane to hit Florida and third most costly for the US.
Nasa satellite image of Hurricane Ian as it bears down on the south-west coast of Florida
Hurricane Fiona hit communities in Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos as a powerful storm.
It then travelled up the western Atlantic and hit Canada as a very powerful sub-tropical storm.
How does the naming work?
Naming storms and hurricanes was started to help in the communication of forecasts and each season begins with a name with starting with the letter A and goes through the alphabet.
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has six lists of storm names that are used on a rotating basis.
Therefore, the names on the 2022 season list will be re-used in 2028 but now with the exception of Fiona and Ian.
After every Atlantic hurricane season the WMO Hurricane committee meet to discuss the storms and hurricanes and take the decision to retire names if necessary.
If a hurricane causes notable destruction and fatalities, the hurricane committee decide out of respect for those affected to never use the name again.
It would also help in any future discussion and communication if the same name infamous name wasn't used again.
Hurricane names beginning with the letter "I" are the most commonly retired names with now 13 removed from lists.
Ida (2021), Irma (2020), Florence (2028) and Ike (2008) are some of the other notable names that have been removed since they were so deadly.
The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season was an average season with 14 named storms of which eight became hurricanes and following a few years of active seasons.
The natural climatic pattern of La Ni帽a was in part responsible with the above average activity recently.
La Ni帽a is now over after three years and forecasters suggest a possible onset of the El Ni帽o pattern during the coming season which runs from September to June. This has the potential to reduce hurricane activity in the Atlantic.
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