Hurricanes Ian, Fiona, Will Likely Be Retired Next Spring

Atlantic tropical storm and hurricane name lists repeat every six years unless a storm is so severe that the name is retired from future lists. This avoids any confusion or insensitivity over the use of particularly infamous storms like Harvey, Katrina, Maria or Sandy to describe another future storm.

F​iona and Ian should easily satisfy that threshold.

Hurricane Fiona hammered Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic with up to 27 inches of rain and Category 1 winds, causing widespread flash flooding, downing numerous trees and triggering an islandwide power outage for Puerto Rico's 3.2 million residents.

Fiona then slammed into Atlantic Canada on Sept. 24 as a post-tropical cyclone, the most intense low-pressure system on record in Canada. Storm surge and battering waves wiped out some coastal homes. High winds downed numerous trees and rainfall flooding was widespread in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, eastern New Brunswick, western Newfoundland and even southeastern Quebec. Gusts up to 111 mph were measured in Nova Scotia.

Three days later, Hurricane Ian plowed into western Cuba, damaging buildings, knocking out power and flooding some areas in waist-deep water.

I​an then intensified before it slammed ashore in southwest Florida at Category 4 intensity on Sept. 28. Its peak storm surge was estimated at just over 15 feet and wind gusts up to 140 mph leveled much of Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island.

I​an went on to produce record inland flooding in several locations in the Florida Peninsula that would last for well over a week, and produced storm surge flooding and high winds along the coast from northeast Florida to the Carolinas, including Pawleys Island and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

A​s of the time this article was published, at least 127 people were killed either directly by Ian, or during its aftermath, 119 of which occurred in Florida. That makes Ian one of the deadliest U.S. hurricanes since 1980.

R​etiring Names

I​n spring 2022, Ida was retired from the names list following its destructive and deadly siege in Louisiana and the Northeast in 2021.

Ninety-four names have been retired by the WMO since the first names – Carol, Hazel and Edna – were retired in 1954. That's an average of one to two names retired each year, though there have been several quieter years without such a notorious storm.

Names beginning with the letter “I” have been retired 12 times, the most of any letter. This is because these ninth named storms of a season tend to form in the most active months when conditions are most favorable for stronger hurricanes that could have a significant impact. (Note: "Iota" in the 2020 hurricane season was also retired, but was from the supplemental Greek letter name list after all names were used up.)

Other retired "I" hurricanes this century include Irma in 2017, Irene in 2011, Ike in 2008 and Ivan in 2004.

The top 31 costliest U.S. hurricanes have all had their names retired. Each was responsible for at least $8.7 billion in damage in the U.S., according to NOAA.

W​hile damage estimates are still being compiled, Ian's death toll and scope of destruction should make it a slam-dunk retirement decision.

F​iona's destruction in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Atlantic Canada, not to mention setting Canada's all-time low-pressure record, should also qualify it for retirement.

We'll likely have new names for the "F" and "I" storms in the 2028 Atlantic hurricane season.

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