The SDTWFC retires names depending on how severe they are. The requirement for being retired is causing at least $1 billion in damages (2018 USD) or killing more than 100 people. However, if a storm is considered notable enough, it is retired. Examples of this kind of retirement are Connor and Kaleb of 1959. Due to a programming error, satellite images for hurricanes stopped generating from 1959 to 1984. Because of this, storms retired during this time period have their tracks shown. In 1985, satellite images began to generate again, but this time for all tropical cyclones, not just hurricanes.
Names Retired in the 1950's[]
Atlantic[]
Storm Name | Year | Image | Replacement | Damage (2018 USD)/Deaths | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Florence | 1954 | Floren | $4.1 billion
60 deaths |
Hazel two weeks later took an almost identical path as Florence, and both struck New England as major hurricanes. | |
Norma | 1954 | Nancy | $3.4 billion
581-1,191 deaths |
One of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes on record. Made a category 4 landfall in Haiti and South Carolina. | |
Brenda | 1955 | Bethany | $800 million
25 deaths |
Contributed to the severity of the floods in the United States caused by Connie. | |
Connie | 1955 | Cathy | $7.6 billion
184 deaths |
Caused historic flooding in New England and the mid-Atlantic states. | |
Hilda | 1955 | Hannah | $800 million
7 deaths |
Stalled over the outer banks for a day and brought hurricane force winds to the mid-Atlantic states and New England. Made landfall in Newfoundland as a category 1. | |
Ione | 1955 | Ilima | $1.1 billion
300+ |
Made a category 4 landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula a week before Janet made a category 5 landfall a few miles south of the same area. Most damage from Ione was in mainland Mexico. | |
Janet | 1955 | Jasmine | $436 million
1,023 deaths |
One of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded to affect Mexico. Devastated Quintana Roo, Belize, and the Yucatan Peninsula. 500 deaths alone were in Quintana Roo. | |
Ben | 1957 | Bandit | $4 billion
416 deaths |
80% of the deaths were in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. | |
Connor | 1959 | Coleen | $2.2 million
35 deaths |
Deadliest hurricane on record in New Brunswick. | |
Kaleb | 1959 | Kai | $119 million
22 deaths |
At the time, it was the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in South Carolina. It changed the face of a beach in Charleston forever by washing away all of the sand. |
Pacific[]
Coming soon.
Names Retired in the 1960's[]
Atlantic[]
Storm Name | Year | Image | Replacement | Damage (2018 USD)/Deaths | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barbara | 1960 | Brittany | $2.4 billion
173 deaths |
A storm surge of 9.5 feet was measured in Pass Christian, Mississippi. | |
Edna | 1960 | Esther | $87.2 billion
5,358 deaths |
Only known storm to make a category 4 landfall in Maryland. One of the strongest storms on record to affect Florida, Georgia, and the Carolina's. Edna was the costliest Atlantic hurricane until Orpha in 1978. | |
Gilda | 1960 | Gloria | $1.35 billion
28 deaths |
Catastrophic flooding took place in and around Atlanta. | |
Cynthia | 1961 | Coryn | $18.5 billion
284 deaths |
Went from 80 mph/988 mBar to 170 mph/915 mBar in 24 hours. | |
Gladys | 1961 | Garry | $425 million
147 deaths |
A woman's body, killed by Gladys in Cuba, was found hundreds of miles away on a Venezuelan beach 2 months after Gladys. | |
Illima | 1961 | Igor | $1.6 billion
675 deaths |
A storm surge of 13 feet was observed south of Brownsville, Texas. | |
Frankie | 1963 | Francine | $3.5 billion
327 deaths |
Caused the discovery of the El Chupacabra by causing the body of one to be swept into a town by a mudslide in Puerto Rico. | |
Grayson | 1963 | Giovanni | $7.1 billion
3,729 deaths |
Made a 175mph landfall near Santo Domingo, destroying most of the city. | |
Ivan | 1963 | Imogen | $1.4 billion
37 deaths |
Took a straight path from Puerto Rico to Jamaica. | |
Fred | 1964 | Felix | $8.3 billion
71 deaths |
Caused a 16 foot storm surge in Big Bend, Florida. | |
George | 1964 | Georgina | $53.7 billion
440 deaths |
Final storm to reach 185 mph winds in a span of 10 years, the others being Janet in 1955 and Edna in 1960. | |
Karl | 1964 | Kelly | $19.5 billion
48 deaths |
A rainfall total of 67.3 inches was recorded north of Houston, one of the wettest storms in American history. | |
Luis | 1964 | Lori | $3.6 billion
33 deaths |
Made four separate landfalls in Florida, all at different categories; 1 - Jacksonville, 2 - Key West, 3 - Tampa Bay area, 4 - Tampa Bay area. | |
Michael | 1964 | Miranda | $1 billion
465 deaths |
Dumped up to 60 inches of rain in parts of Honduras. | |
Coleen | 1965 | Candy | $21.3 billion
274 deaths |
Nassau in the Bahamas recorded 34 hours straight of hurricane force winds, with 16 hours of major hurricane strength winds. | |
Floren | 1966 | Francisco | $2.45 billion
184 deaths |
One of the worst storms on record to make landfall on Saint Lucia. Floren made landfall there with 135mph winds. | |
Jill | 1966 | Jewel | $8.7 billion
1,058 deaths |
Catastrophic flooding in the Dominican Republic and Southern United States, mainly Mississippi and Louisiana. | |
Kathy | 1966 | Kayla | $950 million
258 deaths |
Massive mudslides swallowed many small villages and wiped out millions of acres of forest. | |
Edith | 1967 | Ernie | $3 billion
418 deaths |
Dropped at least 2 inches of rain in every US state bordering the Atlantic Ocean. | |
Katie | 1967 | Kyle | $1 billion
96 deaths |
Originally predicted to not surpass tropical depression strength. | |
Martha | 1967 | McKenna | $20.4 billion
2,819 deaths |
Strongest Atlantic hurricane on record until it was surpassed by Hurricane Orpha 11 years later. | |
Orva | 1967 | Omar | $1.2 billion
106 deaths |
One of the worst storms on record to strike Dominica. | |
Stella | 1967 | Serena | $28.5 billion
136 deaths |
Destroyed most of the wooden and brick buildings in Southern Florida outside of Miami. | |
Wilma | 1967 | Winona | $5.2 billion
259 deaths |
4 days of torrential rains and hurricane force winds destroyed what was left of South Florida after Wilma. Flood waters up to 37 feet were measured around Lake Okeechobee. | |
Carla | 1968 | Crystal | $2.1 billion
278deaths |
First name on List III to be reitred. | |
Molly | 1968 | Michelle | $3.7 billion
736 deaths |
Destroyed many area already severely affected by Carla, | |
Nona | 1968 | Nina | $2.8 billion
453 deaths |
Port Au Prince in Haiti saw rainfall rates of 4 inches per hour at the height of the storm. | |
Douglas | 1969 | Dane | $1.3 billion
15 deaths |
One of the strongest storms to have their eye pass directly over downtown Houston. | |
Francine | 1969 | Flannery | $6.7 billion
356 deaths |
St. Croix in the Virgin Islands recorded major hurricane strength winds for 43 hours straight. | |
Hank | 1969 | Heather | $28.3 billion
89 deaths |
One of the strongest storms to make landfall on Florida's west coast. | |
Kevin | 1969 | Katrina | $11.5 billion
13,728 deaths |
One of the deadliest hurricanes ever recorded. Some parts of Cuba saw up to 140 inches of rain throughout Kevin's lifespan. | |
Vinnie | 1969 | Veronica | $5.3 billion
104 deaths |
Caused an 11 foot storm surge in southern Louisiana. New Orleans saw category 2 winds at the height of Vinnie. | |
Wallie | 1969 | William | $9.8 billion
56 deaths |
A 22 foot storm surge tore through the streets of Mobile and Biloxi. Over half of the roads in Harrison County, Mississippi were washed out. |
Names Retired in the 1970's[]
Atlantic[]
Storm Name | Year | Image | Replacement | Damage (2018 USD)/Deaths | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hector | 1970 | Helene | $2.3 billion
146 deaths |
A landslide carried a house 3 miles. Miraculously, the house survived without major damage and the two people inside were unharmed. | |
Kelly | 1970 | Kanye | $2.6 billion
43 deaths |
One of the worst storms to affect Tabasco. | |
Nathan | 1970 | Naomi | $63.2 billion
319 deaths |
Longest lived Atlantic hurricane ever record, and the second longest lived storm ever recorded in any basin. Nathan also had one of the highest ACE of any Atlantic storm; 73.8. | |
Kai | 1971 | Kent | $4.6 billion
248 deaths |
One of the largest eyes on record; 93 miles in diameter. | |
Phillipe | 1971 | Phoebe | $8.7 billion
6,826 deaths |
Strongest storm on record to make landfall on the northern coast of Hispaniola, where it hit with 180 mph winds and a 898 mBar. Thankfully, the deaths, despite being high, could have been much higher had it hit a more populated area. | |
Alice | 1972 | Anya | $8.2 billion
27 deaths |
First A name to be retired, caused significant storm surge damage north of Miami. This storm also caused major damage to structures built by the Spanish around Orlando. | |
Patsy | 1972 | Parker | $38.5 billion
338 deaths |
$7 billion in damages alone was from Cuba, making it one of the costliest Cuban hurricanes ever recorded. Ft. Myers, Florida and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina both recorded storm surges of 13 feet. | |
Linda | 1973 | Lars | $29.1 billion
147 deaths |
165mph winds and a 18 foot storm surge pummeled Corpus Christi, destroying the seawall, every building within a mile of the coast, all the bridges and roads in town, and many destroyed many estuaries. | |
McKenna | 1973 | Melissa | $72.5 billion
514 deaths |
One of the costliest storms on record and one of the strongest to hit New England (115 mph landfall in Connecticut). | |
Omar | 1973 | Orion | $4.5 billion
67 deaths |
Caused major flooding in the southern Mississippi River Valley. | |
Verna | 1973 | Vina | $1 billion
34 deaths |
An 11 foot storm surge caused significant damage to many small villages and to the big city of Manzanillo. | |
Inez | 1974 | Izzy | $11.9 billion
972 deaths |
Caused severe flooding in Houston, and dropped over 50 inches of rain in places in Cuba, Honduras, and Belize. Winds in Houston also majorly damaged many skyscrapers. | |
Michelle | 1974 | Mark | $23.5 billion
205 deaths |
Caused bad flooding in lower elevation areas of New Orleans, but most of the city had evacuated limiting the amount of deaths. | |
Paula | 1974 | Paige | $7.5 billion
261 deaths |
One of the strongest and costliest storms to hit Cuba at that time, with 165 mph winds and causing $4.7 billion in damages there. | |
Flannery | 1975 | Fletcher | $3.3 billion
49 deaths |
Caused almost complete destruction in Key Largo due to a 20 foot storm surge, and caused an 8 foot storm surge in Miami due to its large size. | |
Imogen | 1975 | Ivanka | $4.4 billion
103 deaths |
Caused extreme wind damage in the northern Lesser Antilles and particularly the Virgin Islands. Flooding in Puerto Rico also caused major damage and many deaths. | |
Katrina | 1975 | Kym | $2.9 billion
374 deaths |
Resulted in destructive flooding in areas ravaged by Kevin 6 years earlier. | |
Layten | 1975 | Levi | $47.6 billion
161 deaths |
Caused at least 8 inches of rain to fall in every state bordering the Atlantic Ocean except Rhode Island. Massive storm surge also impacted Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Pensacola, Mobile, and Biloxi. | |
Ethan | 1976 | Elise | $2.6 billion
34 deaths |
Caused severe flooding in many areas throughout central Cuba, and heavy storm surge damage in the Bahamas. | |
Donald | 1977 | Duncan | $35.68 billion
145 deaths |
Caused extreme wind damage on Bermuda, as well as a 6 foot storm surge. A 12 foot storm surge hit New England, and heavy rain caused widespread flooding. At the height of the storm, 30% of Rhode Island's land area was covered in at least 16 inches of water. | |
Earl | 1977 | Evan | $18.34 billion
74 deaths |
Caused a massive storm surge, 17 feet, to destroy most of Pensacola, Mobile, and Panama City. | |
Henry | 1977 | Heath | $10.36 billion
408 deaths |
Heavy flooding Haiti and Jamaica resulted in widespread deaths and damage, while extreme wind damage occurred in eastern Cuba. | |
Lucy | 1978 | Luke | $12.4 billion
71 deaths |
Due to it's 22 foot storm surge, Lucy caused dozens of small islands in the Bahamas to, at point or another, go completely underwater. Additionally, a plane at the Nassau airport was swept away and carried all the way southern Florida, where it was found on a Homestead beach. | |
Orpha | 1978 | Octavia | $128.6 billion
4,274 deaths |
At the time, Orpha was the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic, and the costliest anywhere in the world. 90% of Tampa was destroyed by 160 mph winds and a 26 foot storm surge. In Honduras, 3 days of heavy rain triggered deadly mudslides and flooding. | |
Diane | 1979 | Donovan | $13.4 billion
284 deaths |
Prolonged torrential rainfall in North Carolina and Virginia led to extreme flooding in the hardest hit areas. Greenville along the Tar River in North Carolina reportedly "vanished" after it was overrun by 35 foot waters from the river. Heavy flooding was also seen in Richmond, Virginia, Elicott City, Maryland, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland. An F2 tornado also struck Washington D.C., killing 1 person and causing $2 million in damages. | |
Hannah | 1979 | Hamilton | $9.9 billion
80 deaths |
Hannah caused a 5 foot storm surge in Cuba that destroyed many coastal towns. Flooding also caused damage in Jamaica. Strong winds from a related thunderstorm also caused a plane crash near Dallas, Texas, killing 57 out of the total 183 people on board. | |
Kyle | 1979 | Karen | $7.8 billion
60 deaths |
3 days of hurricane force winds and heavy rains destroyed 80% of all the structures in the Virgin Islands, Sint Martin and Saint Martian, Anguilla, and the island of Barbuda. However, there was a relatively low amount of damage and deaths on those islands due to, at the time, spotty infrastructure and population. | |
Melissa | 1979 | Monica | $76.5 billion
189 deaths |
Melissa caused an unprecedented 24 foot storm surge around Port Arthur, Texas, destroying everything within a mile of the coast. 40 inches of rain fell widespread in southern Louisiana and Texas. This led to extreme flooding in areas such as Beaumont and Houston, Texas and Lake Charles Louisiana seeing floodwaters up to 20 feet deep in some places. | |
Winona | 1979 | Witner | $5.2 billion
53 deaths |
A 5 foot storm surge in the Mobile Bay caused widespread destruction of coastal regions. High winds also severely damaged many of the wooden structures in the area used as temporary housing for families whose homes had been destroyed by past hurricanes, such as Omar, Layten, and Earl. |
Pacifc[]
Coming soon.
Names Retired in the 1980's[]
Atlantic[]
Storm Name | Year | Image | Replacement | Damage (2018 USD)/Deaths | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Betsy | 1980 | Bianca | $6.3 billion
175 deaths |
Caused a 12 foot storm surge in the
Reserva de la Biosfera Sian Ka'an in Quintana Roo. Playa del Carmen and Cozumel also received serious damage from winds and storm surge. | |
Izzy | 1980 | Ishmael | $11.2 billion
58 deaths |
Wind caused almost all of Fort Myers, Miami, and For Lauderdale to lose power due to the storm's size. A severe storm surge of 7 feet from Fort Myers to Miami was also observed, though the damage was limited due to good infrastructure following years of major hurricanes such as Stella. | |
Laura | 1980 | Lorraine | $2.6 billion
598 deaths |
Caused severe flooding in Haiti, leading to the high death toll. Water reached 25 feet deep in some places. | |
Fletcher | 1981 | Falcon | $2.6 billion
47 deaths |
Heavy wind damage and mudslides occurred on Barbados and Saint Lucia, as well as St. VIncent. Storm surge destroyed coastal areas in Santo Domingo. | |
Jacob | 1981 | Jenny | $8.4 billion
36 deaths |
An 8ft storm surge struck Fort Pierce, sweeping away coastal homes and washing out other buildings. 400,000 people lost power in Central Florida, and Lake Okeechobee burst its banks. Some flooding was also reported in southern Mississippi and Louisiana, and a tornado outbreak struck Arkansas and eastern Texas. | |
Robert | 1981 | Ruby | $3.3 billion
52 deaths |
The Cayman Islands recorded 20 hours of major hurricanes force winds, and a 15 foot storm surge hit southern Cuba and the Cayman Islands. 95% of buildings in the Cayman Islands were damaged or destroyed, and the whole nation lost power for over a week. | |
David | 1982 | Darren | $100.3 billion
77 deaths |
Only the second storm name to be retired that didn't reach hurricane strength. Over 55 inches of rain fell in the Houston metro area, resulting in catastrophic flooding. Dozens of bayous reached record height, destroying over 20,000 homes, 10,000 businesses, and 170,000 cars. | |
Felix | 1982 | Faith | $4.5 billion
198 deaths |
Strong winds devastated agriculture in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In Port Au Prince, Haiti, strong winds and heavy rains led to widespread destruction of many slum neighborhoods. However, many people got a warning due to an advanced warning and evacuation system put in place in the aftermath of past devastating hurricanes, such as Grayson. | |
Carol | 1984 | Charlotte | $350 million
222 deaths |
Flash flooding and landslides caused widespread destruction in mountainous areas of Honduras. | |
Nancy | 1984 | Natalia | $12.3 billion
285 deaths |
An 8 foot storm surge submerged all of Ocean City, Maryland, destroying 90% of the buildings in the city and washing away the world famous pier. The only buildings left were beachfront condominiums over 7 stories high. After the passage of Nancy, the damage was so bad, Ocean City became a ghost town. Severe thunderstorms, heavy rains, and multiple weak tornadoes touched down in Virginia and Maryland, with an EF1 even touching down in Washington D.C. The storms caused over 600 flights in and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington Dulles International Airport, and Baltimore-Washington International Airport to be cancelled. DCA was closed for 3 days as the Potomac River overflowed and damaged multiple airplane hangers, terminals, and the runways. | |
Parker | 1984 | Percy | $450 million
24 deaths |
Prolonged tropical storm force winds, high winds, and large surf battered multiple small island nations in the northern Lesser Antilles, causing widespread damage. Sint Eustatius was particularly hard hit, with almost every building on the island being damage. Retirement was requested by the Dutch representative. | |
Eric | 1987 | Edmund | $950 million
18 deaths |
Eric struck the Cape Cod peninsula of Massachusetts as a category 2, causing fierce winds and a 6 foot storm surge, which was aggravated by 30 foot waves. Almost every building on Nantucket was damaged to some degree, with many buildings being completely destroyed. Eric then hit the Maine/New Brunswick border as a category 1, causing widespread wind damage, cutting power to 220,000. | |
Malcolm | 1987 | Mason | $1.4 billion
506 deaths |
As a depression, Malcolm meandered over Honduras and Nicaragua, dropping torrential rain. This resulted in severe flooding and mudslides, which caused most of the storms' damage and deaths. However, Malcolm struck Jamaica as a 110mph category 2, causing extensive damage to buildings, and destroying 20% of the island's sugar cane crop. | |
Ian | 1988 | Illias | $9.7 billion
224 deaths |
Ian caused catastrophic damage as it hit Kingston, Jamaica as a category 5. 160 mph winds and an 8-foot storm surge struck the island, causing significant damage in places hard hit by Malcolm a year prior. A $1.5 billion dollar cruise ship parked in Kingston was smashed into rocks and sunk. In the Cayman Islands, a 7 foot storm surge and 165 mph winds struck the island, causing total damage to areas still recovering from Robert in 1981. 80% of the buildings in the country destroyed. The number would likely be higher if building codes hadn't been put into effect after Robert. Significant damage also occurred in western Cuba. | |
Miranda | 1988 | Myleak | $22.97 billion
7,506 deaths |
After becoming the first known storm to strike Guyana, Miranda moved slowly over Venezuela, causing torrential rains and devastating floods and landslides. In the country, over 6,500 were killed. After reaching category 5 intensity, Miranda struck Nicaragua, causing extreme damage. Buildings and trees were blown away, and a 10 foot storm surge swept away coastal communities. The hurricane also spawned a very rare violent tornado in its outer bands, which struck Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose, Costa Rica, causing mid-range F4 damage, and destroyed multiple airplanes, including a British Airways 747. That tornado alone caused $1.9 billion in damages. | |
Joseph | 1989 | James | $121.5 billion
7,826 deaths |
Devastated Guadeloupe and Dominica as a category 5, causing $1.8 billion between the two islands. Wind and storm surge inflicted damage in arts of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, while some wind damage was reported in Haiti. Moderate damage was reported in Cuba and the Turks and Caicos. Joseph rapidly grew in strength and size over the Bahamas, causing extreme devastation across the Bahamas. In Nassau, 70% of buildings were severely damaged, and 95% of buildings sustained some kind of damage. On Florida's East Coast, massive storm surge combined with 50 foot waves devastated coastal areas, including parts of Miami, Cape Canaveral, and Jacksonville. Joseph made landfall near Savannah Georgia as a low-end category 6 with 190 mph winds, making Joseph the first Atlantic hurricane to make landfall as a category 6. Despite striking Georgia, major hurricane winds were seen from northern Florida to Charleston, South Carolina. A massive storm surge inundated Savannah, leading to almost the whole city to be destroyed. The death toll was relatively low due to the evacuations of over 6 million people. | |
Nestor | 1989 | North | $760 million
209 deaths |
Nestor caused widespread flooding across Hispaniola, despite its weak intensity and small size. Some places in southern Haiti saw flood waters rise to over 23 feet and stayed at the level for 3-5 days, as Nestor continued to move around the Caribbean erratically. |