Iota is a retired Atlantic hurricane name. The World Meteorological Organization retired it in March 2021, after the 2020 storm, which was the 30th name used that season: the regular list had run out and storms were taking Greek letters. It is the only storm named Iota in our archive, which covers every ocean since 1980.
Yes. The WMO Hurricane Committee retired Eta and Iota, both from 2020, at its March 2021 meeting, because of the death and destruction they caused (WMO Hurricane Committee retires tropical cyclone names and ends the use of Greek alphabet). There had been no formal plan for retiring Greek letters.
Iota is one of 100 names on NHC’s list of retired Atlantic names (Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names).
It won’t be. In March 2021 the WMO Hurricane Committee decided the Greek alphabet will not be used in future, because it distracted from warnings and some letters (Zeta, Eta, Theta) sound alike (WMO Hurricane Committee retires tropical cyclone names and ends the use of Greek alphabet). When the 21 regular Atlantic names run out, storms now take names from a supplemental list approved by the WMO, which starts Adria, Braylen, Caridad (Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names).
Iota formed in the Atlantic in November 2020 and peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (250 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 917 mb. It made landfall near Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. The system was tracked for 6 days.
Hurricane Iota (2020): track and history| Storm | Landfall near | Date (UTC) | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iota 2020 | Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua | 2020-11-17 03:40 | 145 mph / 230 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 2020, Iota was the 30th name used in the Atlantic season, after all 21 regular names.
In 2005 (Alpha to Zeta) and 2020 (Alpha to Iota), the regular list ran out and later storms took Greek letters in order.
The most recent was Hurricane Iota in 2020, in the Atlantic. It formed on November 12, peaked at 155 mph (250 km/h) and lasted 6 days. It made landfall near Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. It was the 30th name used in that Atlantic season. It is the only storm named Iota in our archive, which covers every ocean since 1980.