ROANOKE, Va. – The World Meteorological Organization retired the names ‘Fiona’ and ‘Ian’ from the list of usable names during any Atlantic hurricane season. In their place, ‘Farrah’ and ‘Idris’ will be used.
Since the early 1950s, the WMO has used names on a six-year cycle when referring to tropical systems.
Names are retired from future use when the storm becomes so dangerous, destructive and/or deadly. For example, if someone said “Hurricane Katrina is forecast to make landfall in 2023,” your mind would go directly back to what happened in 2005. However, it’s a different storm with different properties.
In 2022, Fiona was a powerful hurricane that moved through the Caribbean. It killed more than two dozen and was the costliest weather event on record on the Atlantic side of Canada.
Ian was a Category 4 storm upon landfall in both western Cuba and southwest Florida. More than 100 people died due to the storm, and it cost the U.S. more than $100 billion in damages.
You can read the entire release from the World Meteorological Organization here.