We all know that there is a list of names for the hurricane season. Names that will be given to each storm once it becomes a tropical storm.

Here is a list of this year’s names. (Alex was already used as a pre-season sub-tropical storm, in the far-eastern Atlantic in January)

  • Bonnie
  • Colin
  • Danielle
  • Earl
  • Fiona
  • Gaston
  • Hermine
  • Ian
  • Julia
  • Karl
  • Lisa
  • Matthew
  • Nicole
  • Otto
  • Paula
  • Richard
  • Shary
  • Tobias
  • Virginie
  • Walter

The list of names is recycled from six years earlier. In other words, there are always six lists of names for the next six seasons. So this year, some of the names are the same as the names from 2010, and even 2004.

But when a storm is particularly bad with loss of life or extreme damage, then its name is retired and pulled from the rotation. So on this year’s list we don’t see Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne as they were all retired following the 2004 season.

Well, 2015 won’t go down in history as a terribly devastating hurricane season but two names in the Atlantic Basin will no longer be used. Erika and Joaquin met the criteria established by the World Meteorological Organization to never be used again.

Many of us remember Erika as the storm that had a lot of forecast track uncertainty but when it crossed through the Eastern Caribbean, it hit Dominica. The extreme rainfall there led to 30 deaths.

One person was killed in Haiti due to a mudslide as the storm was dissipating. Erika threatened Florida, but it dissipated over Cuba as we expected due to strong wind shear and dry air. The remnants of Erika passed by the west coast of Florida a few days later as a disorganized blob of thunderstorms.

The other storm Joaquin was a much stronger storm. Joaquin was a category 4 hurricane just on the eastern edge of the Bahamas. It did cause significant damage to several islands in the Bahamas, and the storm was also responsible for killing over 30 crew members of the cargo ship El Faro. Certainly reason enough to pull that name from the list.

It was also the strongest October hurricane to affect the Bahamas since 1866!

In case you are wondering, here is a list of other storm names that have been retired since 2000:
 
2014    NONE
2013    Ingrid
2012    Sandy
2011    Irene
2010    Tomas, Igor
2009    NONE
2008    Gustav, Ike, Paloma
2007    Dean, Felix, Noel
2006    NONE
2005    Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Stan, Wilma
2004    Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne
2003    Fabian, Isabel, Juan
2002    Isadore, Lili
2001    Allison, Iris
2000    Keith
 
Other notable retired names:
 
Georges and Mitch from 1998
Andrew from 1992
Hugo from 1989
Gilbert from 1988
Gloria from 1986
Elena from 1985
Allen from 1980
Agnes from 1972
Camille from 1969
Donna from 1960
Carol, Edna, and Hazel from 1954 (all hit the Eastern US)