The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced Thursday morning at the 40th session of the RA IV hurricane committee that they had retired four Atlantic storm names from List III of the six rotating hurricane naming lists. The WMO retired the names Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate – the four most destructive storms of the costliest-on-record 2017 Atlantic hurricane season.  They have been replaced with Harold, Idalia, Margot and Nigel respectively. The four names retired is the most since the 2005 season, and the second-most on record.

Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas in late August as a Category 4 hurricane, causing significant damage. However, Harvey is most well known for stalling over Texas and causing major flooding in the Houston area. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) estimates Harvey’s total damage at $125 billion, which is tied with Hurricane Katrina of 2005 for the costliest on record (though Katrina is costlier when adjusted for inflation). 69 direct and 39 indirect fatalities are attributed to Harvey.

Irma caused catastrophic damage in the Leeward Islands as a Category 5 hurricane, and also caused major damage in Florida after making two major hurricane landfalls in the Florida Keys and near Marco Island. Irma was the second major hurricane of the season to make landfall in the United States, after none for over a decade prior to Harvey. Irma’s damage is estimated to be at least $64.75 billion, with 33 direct and 105 indirect fatalities attributed to the storm.

Maria, the strongest storm of the season in terms of central pressure, is regarded as the worst natural disaster in Dominica and Puerto Rico. Maria made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane in Dominca September 18, and made landfall on Puerto Rico as a high-end Category 4 hurricane two days later. Maria is estimated to have caused at least $91.61 billion in damage, which is the third costliest tropical cyclone on record and costliest on record for Puerto Rico. The death toll for Maria is uncertain, with NHC mentioning in their TCR that the actual death toll officially stands at 112, but may have been over 1,000.

Nate, the weakest of the four storms to be retired, caused widespread damage and fatalities in central America as a weak tropical storm in early October. Nate eventually strengthened into a hurricane and made landfall along the Gulf Coast of the United States, but damage in the United States was fairly insignificant and no direct fatalities were reported there as a result of the storm. Nate is estimated to have caused at least $787 million in damages, with 45 total fatalities and 9 reported people missing.

No names from the 2017 Pacific hurricane season were retired.

Each spring, the WMO retires storms that are unusually destructive, deadly, or intense. The official start of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season is now only 50 days away, and it is a reminder for those in hurricane-prone areas to have a hurricane plan ready as the start of the season quickly approaches. Routine issuance of Cyclonic Fury blogs will resume on May 15, 2018, coinciding with the start of the 2018 Pacific hurricane season.