Harvey, Maria retired as hurricane names; Idalia among new ones
(WWBT) - Say goodbye to Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate.
Those storms were retired by the World Meteorological Organization from its rotating six-year list.
The criteria and that a storm be "so deadly or destructive that the future use of the name would be insensitive," and those storms reached that level after the destruction they caused, in areas such as Houston, Puerto Rico, Dominica, the Florida Keys and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The names they are being replaced with are Harold, Idalia, Margot, and Nigel. Those names will be used for the first time in 2023, when the list used in 2017 comes back up in the rotation.
From the National Weather Service, here are summaries of the retired storms:
"Hurricane Harvey became a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale before making landfall along the middle Texas coast on Aug. 25. The storm then stalled, with its center remaining over or near the Texas coast for four days, dropping historic rainfall amounts, of up to five feet, causing catastrophic flooding in parts of southeastern Texas. Harvey is the second costliest hurricane in U.S. history (after inflation), behind only Katrina in 2005. At least 68 people died from the direct effects of the storm in Texas, the largest number in that state since 1919
Harvey was most notable for its destructive and record-setting long duration rainfall, when Houston was buried under almost 3 feet of rain."
"Hurricane Irma was a long-lived hurricane that reached category 5 intensity on Sept. 5. The catastrophic hurricane made seven landfalls, four of which occurred as a category 5 hurricane across the northern Caribbean Islands. Irma made landfall as a category 4 hurricane in the Florida Keys on Sept. 10 and struck southwestern Florida as a category 3 the same day. Irma caused 44 direct deaths as a result of its strong winds, heavy rain and high surf. In the U.S., seven direct deaths were reported, and an additional 85 indirect deaths occurred, 80 of which were in Florida. Hundreds more were injured preparing for the storm, during it or in its aftermath."
"Hurricane Maria ravaged the island of Dominica as a category 5 on Sept. 19, and later devastated Puerto Rico as a high-end category 4 hurricane. It also inflicted serious damage on some of the other islands of the northeastern Caribbean Sea. Maria is the third costliest hurricane in U.S. history, behind Harvey and Katrina. Maria caused 31 direct deaths with 34 missing in Dominica, and two direct deaths in Guadeloupe. In Puerto Rico, the death toll stands at 65, which includes an unknown number of indirect deaths."
"Hurricane Nate crossed northeastern Nicaragua and eastern Honduras as a tropical storm, then made landfall on the northern Gulf Coast as a category 1 hurricane. It brought rainfall that caused significant impacts in Central America, where media reports indicate that these caused 44 deaths in the region. An additional fatality in Panama was due to a "shipwreck," bringing the death toll directly associated with Nate to 45. An additional nine people were missing in the region."
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