Ever wonder why you hear some hurricane names again? Or why some names disappear?

Here’s the scoop on hurricane names, straight from NOAA:

For Atlantic hurricanes, there is actually one list for each of six years. In other words, one list is repeated every seventh year. The only time that there is a change is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for obvious reasons of sensitivity. If that occurs, then at an annual meeting by the committee (called primarily to discuss many other issues) the offending name is stricken from the list and another name is selected to replace it.

There is an exception to the retirement rule, however. Before 1979, when the first permanent six-year storm name list began, some storm names were simply not used anymore. For example, in 1966, “Fern” was substituted for “Frieda,” and no reason was cited.

Below is a list of retired names, in alphabetical order, for hurricanes from the Atlantic Ocean:

 

Agnes		1972
Alicia		1983
Allen		1980
Allison		2001
Andrew		1992
Anita		1977
Audrey		1957
Betsy		1965
Beulah		1967
Bob		1991
Camille		1969
Carla		1961
Carmen		1974
Carol		1954
Celia		1970
Cesar		1996
Charley		2004
Cleo		1964
Connie		1955
David		1979
Dean		2007
Dennis		2005
Diana		1990
Diane		1955
Donna		1960
Dora		1964
Edna		1968
Elena		1985
Eloise		1975
Fabian		2003
Felix		2007
Fifi		1974
Flora		1963
Floyd		1999
Fran		1996
Frances		2004
Frederic		1979
Georges		1998
Gilbert		1988
Gloria		1985
Gustav		2008
Hattie		1961
Hazel		1954
Hilda		1964
Hortense		1996
Hugo		1989
Igor		2010
Ike		2008
Inez		1966
Ione		1955
Iris		2001
Isabel		2003
Isidore		2002
Ivan		2004
Janet		1955
Jeanne		2004
Joan		1988
Juan		2003
Katrina		2005
Keith		2000
Klaus		1990
Lenny		1999
Lili		2002
Luis		1995
Marilyn		1995
Michelle		2001
Mitch		1998
Noel		2007
Opal		1995
Paloma		2008
Rita		2005
Roxanne		1995
Stan		2005
Tomas		2010
Wilma		2005