The World Meteorological Organization releases list of 2023 retired storm names

Despite Hurricane Idalia making landfall as a major hurricane, the World Meteorological Organization has not retired the name. This is the first time in a decade that an Atlantic storm name has not been replaced.

Hurricane Idalia was a Category 3 storm when it made landfall near Keaton Beach, Florida in August 2023.

“The hurricane had max winds of 125 mph and storm surge around 7 to 12 feet,” stated The Weather Authority Meteorologist Nikki Sheaks.

Idalia led to the destruction of buildings and trees. One death was attributed to the storm.

There are six lists of storm names for the Atlantic basin, so every sixth year, a list is repeated. According to the National Hurricane Center, storm names are only retired when the storm is “so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate.”

The World Meteorological Organization did retire a couple of 2023 storm names.

• Otis was removed from the list of names in the Eastern North Pacific basin because of the widespread destruction in Acapulco, Mexico, in October 2023.
• Dora was also retired because of the indirect links to the Hawaiian fires in August 2023.
• Otilio and Debora will be used instead.