11 Atlantic Hurricanes That Start With 'I' Have Been Retired Since 2001

T​he next tropical storm in the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season will be named Idalia. While it may not become especially strong, it's worth noting that hurricanes starting with the letter "I" have been notorious in the Atlantic Basin in the 21st century.

Eleven "I" hurricanes were so destructive and deadly, their names won't be used again. In the past 22 years, 11 other I-hurricanes have had their names retired by the World Meteorological Organization. This is done when a particular tropical storm or hurricane is so deadly and/or damaging that future use might be considered insensitive or confusing.

This "I" list is a who's who of many notorious recent hurricanes. It began with four straight I-hurricanes from 2001 through 2004 and ended with two more retirees the past two hurricane seasons.

-​ Ian 2022: Florida's costliest hurricane and its aftermath claimed at least 150 lives

-​ I​da 2021: Storm surge and rainfall flooding in Louisiana, then flash flooding in the Northeast

-​ Irma 2017: Carved a destructive path from the northeast Caribbean Islands to Florida

-​ Ingrid (2013): Triggered deadly flooding and mudslides (in addition to eastern Pacific Manuel) in Mexico

-​ Irene (2011): While a close call for storm surge in New York City (later smashed by Superstorm Sandy), catastrophic flooding resulted in parts of Vermont, New York and Pennsylvania

-​ Igor (2010): The most damaging hurricane in recent history for Newfoundland; also struck Bermuda

-​ Ike (2008): Massive storm surge on the upper Texas and Louisiana coasts; a high wind event well inland to Ohio Valley and beyond

-​ Ivan (2004): Devastated Grand Cayman; 10- to 15-foot surge along the U.S. Gulf Coast; 120 tornadoes in U.S.

-​ Isabel (2003): One of most significant hurricanes to hit eastern Virginia since Hazel (1954); storm surge pushed up Chesapeake Bay

-​ Isidore (2002): Heavy damage to agricultural interests in western Cuba and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula

The letter with the most number of retirees is – you guessed it – "I": Since 1953, when the naming of Atlantic tropical cyclones ditched the phonetic alphabet, 96 Atlantic tropical cyclone names have been retired.

Thirteen retired names start with "I," the most of any letter. Inez (1966) and Ione (1955) were the other two retired "I" hurricanes.

While Iota was also retired in 2020 due to its impact in Central America, that name was only utilized because the 2020 name list was used up, requiring the use of the Greek alphabet after Wilfred.

But "I" storms that weren't retired were also impactful. Similar to athletes that had good careers but didn't have their jersey numbers retired, there have also been other recent "I" storms that were damaging, but not to the extent that their names were retired.

Hurricane Isaias in 2020 tore through the East with destructive winds after its North Carolina landfall.

Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019 dumped over 40 inches of rain near the upper Texas coast, leading to massive flooding just two years after Hurricane Harvey.

Here's the secret behind the letter "I": The Atlantic Basin has generated an average of 14 named storms each hurricane season from 1991 through 2020.

Since "I" is the ninth letter of the alphabet, you can pretty much count on an "I" storm each season now, as opposed to, say, the 1970s or 1980s, when named storm counts were lower. (Note: A long-term reanalysis project at NOAA's Hurricane Research Division has added a number of unnamed storms in past decades that would have earned an "I" name if they were detected at the time.)

According to the National Hurricane Center, the average date the ninth storm developed over the past 30 years is Sept. 16.

T​hat happens to land in the heart of hurricane season, when tropical easterly waves coming off western Africa are most vigorous; shearing winds that could rip apart a developing tropical system in the zone between Africa and the Lesser Antilles are lowest; and sea-surface temperatures are at their warmest.

In a typical year, an "I" storm has a better chance to be a long-lived and/or intense hurricane, with these generally favorable factors in play.

Of course, that's no guarantee this recent "I-jinx" will continue, and any hurricane threatening land, regardless of the name, should be taken seriously.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. His lifelong love of meteorology began with a close encounter with a tornado as a child in Wisconsin. He studied physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then completed his Master's degree working with dual-polarization radar and lightning data at Colorado State University. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on X (formerly Twitter), Threads and Facebook.

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