Iris is a retired Atlantic hurricane name. The World Meteorological Organization took it off the lists after the 2001 storm, so no future Atlantic storm will be called Iris. Its place on the list now belongs to Imelda, on the 2031 list. Since 1989, six storms have been named Iris; the strongest, in 2001, peaked as a Category 4 hurricane.
Yes. Iris is on NHC’s list of retired Atlantic names because of the 2001 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 Imelda, on the 2031 Atlantic list, which is next used in 2031.
Iris formed in the Southern Hemisphere in March 2018 and peaked as a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 987 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 18 days.
Tropical Storm Iris (2018): track and historyIris formed in the Atlantic in October 2001 and peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 948 mb. It made landfall near Bella Vista, Belize. The system was tracked for 5 days.
Hurricane Iris (2001): track and historyIris formed in the Southern Hemisphere in January 2000 and peaked as a Category 1 cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 964 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 5 days.
Cyclone Iris (2000): track and historyIris formed in the West Pacific in February 1999 and peaked as a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 km/h). It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 5 days.
Tropical Storm Iris (1999): track and historyIris formed in the Atlantic in August 1995 and peaked as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 957 mb. It made 2 landfalls, first near St. Mary Parish, Antigua and Barbuda and last near Saint John’s, Antigua and Barbuda. The system was tracked for 16 days.
Hurricane Iris (1995): track and historyIris formed in the Atlantic in September 1989 and peaked as a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 1001 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 5 days.
Tropical Storm Iris (1989): track and history| Storm | Landfall near | Date (UTC) | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iris 2001 | Bella Vista, Belize | 2001-10-09 02:00 | 145 mph / 230 km/h |
| Iris 1995 | St. Mary Parish, Antigua and Barbuda | 1995-08-27 18:00 | 60 mph / 95 km/h |
| Iris 1995 | Saint John’s, Antigua and Barbuda | 1995-08-27 23:00 | 65 mph / 100 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 2001, 1995 and 1989, Iris was the 9th name used in the Atlantic season.
Storms named Iris 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 Iris in 2018, in the Southern Hemisphere. It formed on March 22, peaked at 65 mph (100 km/h) and lasted 18 days. It did not make landfall. Before that, the name was used in 2001, 2000, 1999, 1995 and 1989.
Hurricane Iris in 2001 was the strongest, peaking as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 145 mph (230 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 948 mb. It formed in the Atlantic in October and made landfall near Bella Vista, Belize. The weakest of the six, in 1999, peaked at 40 mph (65 km/h).