Hurricane Names Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate Being Retired

S Band Radar & Maps | Forecast | Weather Alerts
Traffic | Send Us a Photo/Video | Live Cams

After a deadly and costly 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate will no longer be used as hurricane names.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday
that the names have been retired and will be replaced with Harold, Idalia, Margot and Nigel for the 2023 season.

Including those four additions, there have been 86 names retired from the Atlantic basin since 1954, when storms began to be named. The 2005 hurricane season has the most retired names for one season. Five names were retired from that season, including Katrina and Rita.

Names are retired when storms are deadly and destructive as these were in the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season.

The Atlantic hurricane and tropical storm name list typically repeats every six years, unless one is too destructive or deadly that the World Meteorological Organization Hurricane Committee votes to retire that name from future lists.

The 2018 Atlantic season begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30, and is predicted to be above normal with 14 named storms, of which seven will be hurricanes. Of those hurricanes three will be major (category 3-5). A typical season sees six hurricanes.

Harvey hit Texas Aug. 25, killing at least 68 people. Irma caused 44 deaths and 85 indirect deaths in the Caribbean and Florida. Maria killed 31 in Dominica and 65 in Puerto Rico. Nate's rainfall inundated Central America and killed 45.

Get the latest forecast information from NBC 5's team of Weather Experts here.