Retired Hurricane Names

Updated February 21, 2017 | Factmonster Staff

When hurricanes are particularly destructive, their names are retired from the list of usable names. Any country affected by a particularly terrible storm can request that the name be retired by petitioning the World Meteorological Organization. A retired name cannot be reused for at least ten years, to facilitate historic references, legal actions, insurance claim activities, and to avoid public confusion with another storm of the same name. Below is a list of infamous hurricanes that have settled into retirement.

NameYearLocation(s) affected
Agnes1972Florida, Northeast U.S.
Alicia1983North Texas
Allen1980Antilles, Mexico, South Texas
Allison2001Texas
Alma2008Nicaragua
Andrew1992Bahamas, South Florida, and Louisiana
Anita1977Mexico
Audrey1957Louisiana, North Texas
Betsy1965Bahamas, Southeast Florida, Southeast Louisiana
Beulah1967Antilles, Mexico, South Texas
Bob1991North Carolina, Northeast U.S.
Camille1969Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama
Carla1961Texas
Carmen1974Mexico
Carol1954Northeast U.S.
Celia1970South Texas
Charley2004Florida, Cuba, Jamaica, South Carolina
Cleo1964Lesser Antilles, Haiti, Cuba, Southeast Florida
Connie1955North Carolina
David1979Lesser Antilles, Hispanola, Florida, and Eastern U.S.
Dennis2005Cuba, Florida
Diana1990Mexico
Diane1955Mid-Atlantic U.S. and Northeast U.S.
Donna1960Bahamas, Florida, and Eastern U.S.
Dora1964Northeast Florida
Edna1954North Carolina, Massachusetts, Maine
Elena1985Mississippi, Alabama, Western Florida
Eloise1975Antilles, Northwest Florida, Alabama
Fabian2003Bermuda
Fifi1974Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Mexico
Flora1963Haiti, Cuba
Floyd1999North Carolina, eastern seaboard
Fran1996North Carolina, eastern seaboard
Frances2004Caribbean, Florida, eastern United States
Frederic1979Alabama and Mississippi
Georges1998Antilles, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi
Gilbert1988Lesser Antilles, Jamaica, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Gloria1985North Carolina, Northeast U.S.
Gustav2008Haiti, Cuba, Louisiana
Hattie1961Belize, Guatemala
Hazel1954Antilles, North and South Carolina
Hilda1964Louisiana
Hortense1996Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic
Hugo1989Antilles, South Carolina
Igor2010Newfoundland
Ike2008Haiti, Cuba, Texas
Inez1966Lesser Antilles, Hispanola, Cuba, Florida Keys, Mexico
Ione1955North Carolina
Irene2011Hispaniola, Bahamas, U.S. East Coast
Iris2001Belize
Isabel2003North Carolina, Northeast U.S.
Isidore2002Western Cuba, Yucatan, Louisiana
Ivan2004Windward Islands, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama
Janet1955Lesser Antilles, Belize, Mexico
Jeanne2004Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida
Joan1988Curacao, Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua (crossed into Pacific and became Miriam)
Juan2003Nova Scotia
Katrina2005Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana
Keith2000Belize, Nicaragua, Mexico
Klaus1990Martinique
Lenny1999Antilles
Lili2002Lesser Antilles, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, Louisiana
Luis1995Lesser Antilles
Marilyn1995Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico
Michelle2001Honduras, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Cuba
Mitch1998Central America, Nicaragua, Honduras
Opal1995Central America, Mexico, Florida
Paloma2008Cuba
Rita2005Louisiana, Texas
Roxanne1995Mexico
Stan2005Mexico, Central America
Tomas2010Winward Islands, Haiti
Wilma2005Yucatan, Florida
Source: National Hurricane Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

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