4Warn Weather – When we talk about hurricane names, either in the Atlantic or Pacific Basins, from now on, there will be four names that you will not see again after they were retired from the rotating list of hurricane names by the World Meteorological Organization.
These names should sound familiar from the 2024 Hurricane Season: Beryl, Helene, Milton, and John.
A storm name is normally retired from the list of rotating names when it is particularly deadly or destructive. Hurricanes Helene and Milton will be the most familiar to us, as these storms caused catastrophic damage in the Southeastern United States, including over 200 deaths. Hurricane John brought deadly flash flooding in the Mexican state of Guerrero.
Hurricane Beryl was the earliest Atlantic Basin Category 5 Hurricane on record when it formed in July 2024. The storm then hit the Texas Gulf Coast as a Category 1 Hurricane, leaving millions without power for days in the sweltering Texas summer heat.
The World Meteorological Organization chose to remove Beryl, Helene, and Milton from the list of Atlantic hurricane names, and John from the list of Pacific hurricane names.
Every year, the World Meteorological Organization issues an alphabetical list of short names that people can recognize, which will be used in the upcoming hurricane season. Note that these lists do not have names starting with the letters.
