Irene is a retired Atlantic hurricane name. The World Meteorological Organization took it off the lists after the 2011 storm, so no future Atlantic storm will be called Irene. Its place on the list now belongs to Idalia, on the 2029 list. Since 1981, five storms have been named Irene; the strongest, in 2011, peaked as a Category 3 hurricane.
Yes. Irene is on NHC’s list of retired Atlantic names because of the 2011 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 I slot, now belongs to Idalia, on the 2029 Atlantic list, which is next used in 2029.
Irene formed in the Southern Hemisphere in January 2023 and peaked as a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 990 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 5 days.
Tropical Storm Irene (2023): track and historyIrene formed in the Atlantic in August 2011 and peaked as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 942 mb. It made 7 landfalls, first near Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands and last near Brooklyn, United States. The system was tracked for 9 days.
Hurricane Irene (2011): track and historyIrene formed in the Atlantic in August 2005 and peaked as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 970 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 14 days.
Hurricane Irene (2005): track and historyIrene formed in the Atlantic in October 1999 and peaked as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 958 mb. It made 4 landfalls, first near Nueva Gerona, Cuba and last near Homestead, United States. The system was tracked for 7 days.
Hurricane Irene (1999): track and historyIrene formed in the Atlantic in September 1981 and peaked as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 959 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 12 days.
Hurricane Irene (1981): track and history| Storm | Landfall near | Date (UTC) | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irene 2011 | Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | 2011-08-21 23:00 | 70 mph / 110 km/h |
| Irene 2011 | Humacao, Puerto Rico | 2011-08-22 05:25 | 70 mph / 110 km/h |
| Irene 2011 | 22.4°N 74.0°W | 2011-08-24 16:00 | 115 mph / 185 km/h |
| Irene 2011 | George Town, Bahamas | 2011-08-25 00:00 | 110 mph / 175 km/h |
| Irene 2011 | 24.7°N 76.2°W | 2011-08-25 09:00 | 105 mph / 165 km/h |
| Irene 2011 | Marsh Harbour, Bahamas | 2011-08-25 18:00 | 105 mph / 165 km/h |
| Irene 2011 | Morehead City, United States | 2011-08-27 12:00 | 85 mph / 140 km/h |
| Irene 2011 | Atlantic City, United States | 2011-08-28 09:35 | 70 mph / 110 km/h |
| Irene 2011 | Brooklyn, United States | 2011-08-28 13:00 | 65 mph / 100 km/h |
| Irene 1999 | Nueva Gerona, Cuba | 1999-10-14 12:00 | 70 mph / 110 km/h |
| Irene 1999 | Güira de Melena, Cuba | 1999-10-14 19:00 | 70 mph / 110 km/h |
| Irene 1999 | Key West, United States | 1999-10-15 13:00 | 75 mph / 120 km/h |
| Irene 1999 | Homestead, United States | 1999-10-15 20:00 | 80 mph / 130 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 2011, 2005, 1999 and 1981, Irene was the 9th name used in the Atlantic season.
Storms named Irene 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 Tropical Storm Irene in 2023, in the Southern Hemisphere. It formed on January 15, peaked at 65 mph (100 km/h) and lasted 5 days. It did not make landfall. Before that, the name was used in 2011, 2005, 1999 and 1981.
Hurricane Irene in 2011 was the strongest, peaking as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph (195 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 942 mb. It formed in the Atlantic in August and made landfall near Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The weakest of the five, in 2023, peaked at 65 mph (100 km/h).