Has the name Irma been retired?
Yes. Irma is on NHC’s list of retired Atlantic names because of the 2017 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 Irma 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 Idalia, on the 2029 Atlantic list, which is next used in 2029.
Why was the storm named Irma?
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 2017, Irma was the 9th name used in the Atlantic season.
Irma in other oceans
Storms named Irma appear in more than one ocean in our archive:
- Atlantic: 2017
- West Pacific: 1981, 1985, 1988, 1989 and 1993
- Southern Hemisphere: 1987
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.