Otto is a retired Atlantic hurricane name. The World Meteorological Organization took it off the lists after the 2016 storm, so no future Atlantic storm will be called Otto. Its place on the list now belongs to Owen, on the 2028 list. Since 1998, four storms have been named Otto; the strongest, in 1998, peaked as a Category 3 typhoon.
Yes. Otto is on NHC’s list of retired Atlantic names because of the 2016 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 Owen, on the 2028 Atlantic list, which is next used in 2028.
Otto formed in the Atlantic in November 2016 and peaked as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 975 mb. It made landfall near Guápiles, Costa Rica. The system was tracked for 9 days.
Hurricane Otto (2016): track and historyOtto formed in the Atlantic in October 2010 and peaked as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 976 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 12 days.
Hurricane Otto (2010): track and historyOtto formed in the Atlantic in November 2004 and peaked as a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 995 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 10 days.
Tropical Storm Otto (2004): track and historyOtto formed in the West Pacific in August 1998 and peaked as a Category 3 typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 970 mb. It made 2 landfalls, first near Chishang, Taiwan and last near Jiangkou, China. The system was tracked for 4 days.
Typhoon Otto (1998): track and history| Storm | Landfall near | Date (UTC) | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otto 2016 | Guápiles, Costa Rica | 2016-11-24 17:30 | 115 mph / 185 km/h |
| Otto 1998 | Chishang, Taiwan | 1998-08-04 06:00 | 80 mph / 130 km/h |
| Otto 1998 | Jiangkou, China | 1998-08-04 18:00 | 75 mph / 120 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 2016, 2010 and 2004, Otto was the 15th name used in the Atlantic season.
Storms named Otto 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 Hurricane Otto in 2016, in the Atlantic. It formed on November 17, peaked at 115 mph (185 km/h) and lasted 9 days. It made landfall near Guápiles, Costa Rica. It was the 15th name used in that Atlantic season. Before that, the name was used in 2010, 2004 and 1998.
Typhoon Otto in 1998 was the strongest, peaking as a Category 3 typhoon with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 970 mb. It formed in the West Pacific in August and made landfall near Chishang, Taiwan. The weakest of the four, in 2004, peaked at 50 mph (85 km/h).