The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Hurricane Committee is retiring Beryl, Helene and Milton from the rotating list of Atlantic names.
What You Need To Know
- Beryl, Helene and Milton are being retired from the list of names
- The WMO retires names if they cause exceptional death or damage
- Brianna, Holly and Miguel will replace the names in 2030
Beryl, Helene and Milton all caused significant death and destruction across the Caribbean, Mexico and United States during the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.
There were no Atlantic storm names retired during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season. Before Beryl, Helene and Milton, the most recent names retired were Ian and Fiona from 2022.
The WMO names Atlantic storms and the list is recycled every six years. The list alternates between male and female names, and includes English, French and Spanish names to reflect the geographical coverage of Atlantic and Caribbean storms.
If a storm is particularly deadly or costly, its name is retired and replaced by a new one for sensitivity reasons. The WMO has now retired 99 names from the Atlantic basin list since 1953.
You can learn more about each storm below.
Beryl
Beryl was an early season, record-breaking storm that made three landfalls and strengthened into the earliest Category 5 storm in the Atlantic on record during its lifespan.
Beryl formed on Friday, June 28, becoming the second named storm of the year. It first became a hurricane on Saturday, June 29, and on Sunday, June 30, it became the earliest Atlantic Category 4 storm on record.
It was the earliest major hurricane (Category 3+) to form in the Atlantic basin since 1966, and the third earliest major hurricane to form on record.
It made its first of three landfalls on Carriacou Island in Grenada on Monday, July 1, as a strong Category 4 with max winds of 150 mph. It was the earliest Category 4 storm to make landfall in the Atlantic basin on record.
Beryl moved back over the southeastern Caribbean Sea and continued to strengthen into a Category 5 hurricane. It became the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, breaking the prior record held by Hurricane Emily in 2005 by two weeks. Beryl was also the strongest July Atlantic hurricane on record.
It brushed past the south of Hispaniola, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands as a major hurricane before making its second landfall just northeast of Tulum on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. It moved inland on the morning of July 5, as a Category 2 hurricane with max winds of 110 mph.
Its third and final landfall was near Matagorda, Texas, on July 8, as a Category 1 hurricane with max winds of 80 mph.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Beryl is known to be responsible for at least 68 deaths. 34 were directly attributed to the storm’s winds, rain and tornadoes. 34 were indirectly caused by the storm in the U.S.
NOAA estimates that Beryl’s damage to property in the U.S. was up to $7.2 billion and millions of dollars in the Caribbean and Mexico.
Helene
Helene formed in the northwestern Caribbean Sea on Tuesday, Sept. 24 and became the eighth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the fifth hurricane, the second major one (Category 3+) of the season.
Helene developed from a tropical disturbance in the Caribbean Sea, becoming a tropical storm as it approached the Yucatan Peninsula, and became a hurricane on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
Helene rapidly intensified into a Category 4 hurricane on Thursday, Sept. 26 as it approached the southeastern Gulf of Mexico
Helene reached peak intensity with winds of 140 mph before it made landfall near Perry, Fla., along the Big Bend region, maintaining winds of 140 mph and peak intensity. This was the strongest storm to ever made landfall along the Big Bend coast of Florida.
It devastated Florida’s Gulf Coast and the Tampa Bay area with storm surge inundation up to 6 to 9 feet above ground level.
As Helene moved inland, it quickly weakened to a tropical storm and eventually became a post-tropical cyclone before stalling out and dissipating.
An upper-level disturbance merged with the weakening Helene as it traversed Georgia and South Carolina, bringing catastrophic rainfall and flooding to areas in the Southeast.
It brought widespread destruction across the southern Appalachians and inundated the Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina border area with flooding, landslides and strong wind gusts.
Rainfall amounts of 20 to 30 inches occurred over a large area within the mountainous region of western North Carolina.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Helene was the deadliest hurricane for the contiguous U.S. since Katrina in 2005, with at least 248 fatalities (including at least 175 direct deaths), and produced an estimated $78.7 billion in damage in the United States.
Milton
Milton formed into a tropical storm in the Bay of Campeche on Saturday, Oct. 5, and quickly intensified into a hurricane on Sunday, Oct. 6, becoming the ninth hurricane of the season.
By the morning of Oct. 7, Milton was a Category 3 hurricane, making it the fourth major hurricane of the season. By the late afternoon of that same day, Milton underwent rapid intensification and became a Category 5 hurricane with maximum winds of 180 mph as it moved across the Gulf of Mexico. It solidified itself in the record books before making landfall.
It fluctuated in strength over the next two days from a high-end Category 4 storm to a low-end Category 5 hurricane. As it approached the western coast of the Florida peninsula, it interacted with a front and weakened to a Category 3 hurricane.
Prior to landfall on Oct. 7, the outer rainbands spawned tornadoes in central and southern Florida. A total of 126 tornado warnings were issued in Florida, the second most tornado warnings ever issued in one day, and the most ever in Florida or from a tropical system.
Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph on the evening of Oct. 9 near Siesta Key, Florida. It weakened to a Category 2 hurricane shortly after landfall and eventually became a Category 1 storm. It maintained hurricane status as it crossed the Florida peninsula.
As Milton moved inland, heavy rain created a flash flood emergency north of the center of circulation, including the cities of St. Petersburg, Tampa and Clearwater. The maximum reported rainfall was 20.4″ in St. Petersburg.
It is the fifth Gulf Coast landfalling hurricane this year, joining Beryl, Debby, Francine and Helene. It ties 2005 and 2020 for the second most Gulf hurricane landfalls on record, trailing only 1886, where six Gulf hurricanes made landfall.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Milton is currently known to be responsible for 15 direct deaths – 12 in the United States (all in Florida) and 3 in Mexico. Milton caused 27 indirect deaths in the United States, all in Florida.
NOAA estimates that Milton caused $34.3 billion in damage in the United States, almost exclusively in Florida.
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