Opal is a retired Atlantic hurricane name. The World Meteorological Organization took it off the lists after the 1995 storm, so no future Atlantic storm will be called Opal. Its place on the list now belongs to Olga, on the 2031 list. Since 1995, two storms have been named Opal; the strongest, in 1995, peaked as a Category 4 hurricane.
Yes. Opal is on NHC’s list of retired Atlantic names because of the 1995 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 O slot, now belongs to Olga, on the 2031 Atlantic list, which is next used in 2031.
Opal formed in the West Pacific in June 1997 and peaked as a Category 2 typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 960 mb. It made landfall near Shinshiro, Japan. The system was tracked for 9 days.
Typhoon Opal (1997): track and historyOpal formed in the Atlantic in September 1995 and peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 916 mb. It made landfall near Gulf Breeze, United States. The system was tracked for 9 days.
Hurricane Opal (1995): track and history| Storm | Landfall near | Date (UTC) | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opal 1997 | Shinshiro, Japan | 1997-06-20 03:00 | 70 mph / 110 km/h |
| Opal 1995 | Gulf Breeze, United States | 1995-10-04 22:00 | 115 mph / 185 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 1995, Opal was the 15th name used in the Atlantic season.
Storms named Opal 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 Typhoon Opal in 1997, in the West Pacific. It formed on June 13, peaked at 105 mph (165 km/h) and lasted 9 days. It made landfall near Shinshiro, Japan. Before that, the name was used in 1995.
Hurricane Opal in 1995 was the strongest, peaking as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 916 mb. It formed in the Atlantic in September and made landfall near Gulf Breeze, United States. The weakest of the two, in 1997, peaked at 105 mph (165 km/h).