Has the name Ian been retired?
Yes. Ian is on NHC’s list of retired Atlantic names because of the 2022 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.
When will Ian be used again?
It won’t be. Retired names are not used again on the Atlantic lists. Its place on the list, the I slot, now belongs to Idris, on the 2028 Atlantic list, which is next used in 2028.
Why was the storm named Ian?
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 both 2022 and 2016, Ian was the 9th name used in the Atlantic season.
Ian in other oceans
Storms named Ian appear in more than one ocean in our archive:
- Atlantic: 2016 and 2022
- Southern Hemisphere: 1982, 1992, 1997 and 2014
- West Pacific: 1987 and 1996
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.