Floyd is a retired Atlantic hurricane name. The World Meteorological Organization took it off the lists after the 1999 storm, so no future Atlantic storm will be called Floyd. Its place on the list now belongs to Franklin, on the 2029 list. Since 1981, five storms have been named Floyd; the strongest, in 1999, peaked as a Category 4 hurricane.
Yes. Floyd is on NHC’s list of retired Atlantic names because of the 1999 storm. It is one of 100 names retired there since 1954 (Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names).
A name is retired when a storm was so deadly or costly that using the name again would be insensitive; the World Meteorological Organization then picks a new name with the same first letter at its annual meeting.
It won’t be. Retired names are not used again on the Atlantic lists. Its place on the list, the F slot, now belongs to Franklin, on the 2029 Atlantic list, which is next used in 2029.
Floyd formed in the Southern Hemisphere in March 2006 and peaked as a Category 4 cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 927 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 9 days.
Cyclone Floyd (2006): track and historyFloyd formed in the Atlantic in September 1999 and peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (250 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 921 mb. It made 3 landfalls, first near Nassau, Bahamas and last near Long Beach, United States. The system was tracked for 12 days.
Hurricane Floyd (1999): track and historyFloyd formed in the Atlantic in September 1993 and peaked as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 966 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 6 days.
Hurricane Floyd (1993): track and historyFloyd formed in the Atlantic in October 1987 and peaked as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 993 mb. It made landfall near Key Largo, United States. The system was tracked for 5 days.
Hurricane Floyd (1987): track and historyFloyd formed in the Atlantic in September 1981 and peaked as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 975 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 9 days.
Hurricane Floyd (1981): track and history| Storm | Landfall near | Date (UTC) | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floyd 1999 | Nassau, Bahamas | 1999-09-14 12:00 | 120 mph / 195 km/h |
| Floyd 1999 | Marsh Harbour, Bahamas | 1999-09-14 19:00 | 125 mph / 205 km/h |
| Floyd 1999 | Long Beach, United States | 1999-09-16 06:30 | 105 mph / 165 km/h |
| Floyd 1987 | Key Largo, United States | 1987-10-12 21:00 | 75 mph / 120 km/h |
Names go in alphabetical order, one per storm, as each storm reaches tropical-storm strength (39 mph, 34 knots), so a storm’s place in its season decides its name.
In each of 1999, 1993, 1987 and 1981, Floyd was the 6th name used in the Atlantic season.
Storms named Floyd appear in more than one ocean in our archive:
Each ocean region keeps its own name lists, drawn up by its own WMO regional committee (Tropical cyclone naming), so the same name can be given to unrelated storms in different oceans.
The most recent was Cyclone Floyd in 2006, in the Southern Hemisphere. It formed on March 18, peaked at 130 mph (215 km/h) and lasted 9 days. It did not make landfall. Before that, the name was used in 1999, 1993, 1987 and 1981.
Hurricane Floyd in 1999 was the strongest, peaking as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 155 mph (250 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 921 mb. It formed in the Atlantic in September and made landfall near Nassau, Bahamas. The weakest of the five, in 1993, peaked at 75 mph (120 km/h).