A particularly notable hurricane will have its name retired so other hurricanes can't have the same name.
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When hurricanes are particularly destructive, their names are retired from the list of usable names. Any country affected by a particularly terrible storm can request that the name be retired by petitioning the World Meteorological Organization. A retired name cannot be reused for at least ten years, to facilitate historic references, legal actions, insurance claim activities, and to avoid public confusion with another storm of the same name. Below is a list of infamous hurricanes that have settled into retirement.
| Name | Year | Location(s) affected |
|---|---|---|
| Agnes | 1972 | Florida, Northeast U.S. |
| Alicia | 1983 | North Texas |
| Allen | 1980 | Antilles, Mexico, South Texas |
| Allison1 | 2001 | Texas |
| Alma | 2008 | Nigaragua |
| Andrew | 1992 | Bahamas, South Florida, and Louisiana |
| Anita | 1977 | Mexico |
| Audrey | 1957 | Louisiana, North Texas |
| Betsy | 1965 | Bahamas, Southeast Florida, Southeast Louisiana |
| Beulah | 1967 | Antilles, Mexico, South Texas |
| Bob | 1991 | North Carolina, Northeast U.S. |
| Camille | 1969 | Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama |
| Carla | 1961 | Texas |
| Carmen | 1974 | Mexico |
| Carol | 1954 | Northeast U.S. |
| Celia | 1970 | South Texas |
| Charley | 2004 | Florida, Cuba, Jamaica, South Carolina |
| Cleo | 1964 | Lesser Antilles, Haiti, Cuba, Southeast Florida |
| Connie | 1955 | North Carolina |
| David | 1979 | Lesser Antilles, Hispanola, Florida, and Eastern U.S. |
| Dennis | 2005 | Cuba, Florida |
| Diana | 1990 | Mexico |
| Diane | 1955 | Mid-Atlantic U.S. and Northeast U.S. |
| Donna | 1960 | Bahamas, Florida, and Eastern U.S. |
| Dora | 1964 | Northeast Florida |
| Edna | 1954 | North Carolina, Massachusetts, Maine |
| Elena | 1985 | Mississippi, Alabama, Western Florida |
| Eloise | 1975 | Antilles, Northwest Florida, Alabama |
| Fabian | 2003 | Bermuda |
| Fifi | 1974 | Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Mexico |
| Flora | 1963 | Haiti, Cuba |
| Floyd | 1999 | North Carolina, eastern seaboard |
| Fran | 1996 | North Carolina, eastern seaboard |
| Frances | 2004 | Caribbean, Florida, eastern United States |
| Frederic | 1979 | Alabama and Mississippi |
| Georges | 1998 | Antilles, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi |
| Gilbert | 1988 | Lesser Antilles, Jamaica, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico |
| Gloria | 1985 | North Carolina, Northeast U.S. |
| Gustav | 2008 | Haiti, Cuba, Louisiana |
| Hattie | 1961 | Belize, Guatemala |
| Hazel | 1954 | Antilles, North and South Carolina |
| Hilda | 1964 | Louisiana |
| Hortense | 1996 | Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic |
| Hugo | 1989 | Antilles, South Carolina |
| Igor | 2010 | Bermuda, Newfoundland, Caribbean |
| Ike | 2008 | Haiti, Cuba, Texas |
| Inez | 1966 | Lesser Antilles, Hispanola, Cuba, Florida Keys, Mexico |
| Ingrid | 2013 | Mexico |
| Ione | 1955 | North Carolina |
| Irene | 2011 | Caribbean, Northeast U.S. |
| Iris | 2001 | Belize |
| Isabel | 2003 | North Carolina, Northeast U.S. |
| Isidore | 2002 | Western Cuba, Yucatan, Louisiana |
| Ivan | 2004 | Windward Islands, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama |
| Janet | 1955 | Lesser Antilles, Belize, Mexico |
| Jeanne | 2004 | Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida |
| Joan | 1988 | Curacao, Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua (crossed into Pacific and became Miriam) |
| Juan | 2003 | Nova Scotia |
| Katrina | 2005 | Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana |
| Keith | 2000 | Belize, Nicaragua, Mexico |
| Klaus | 1990 | Martinique |
| Lenny | 1999 | Antilles |
| Lili | 2002 | Lesser Antilles, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, Louisiana |
| Luis | 1995 | Lesser Antilles |
| Marilyn | 1995 | Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico |
| Michelle | 2001 | Honduras, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Cuba |
| Mitch | 1998 | Central America, Nicaragua, Honduras |
| Opal | 1995 | Central America, Mexico, Florida |
| Paloma | 2008 | Cuba |
| Rita | 2005 | Louisiana, Texas |
| Roxanne | 1995 | Mexico |
| Sandy | 2012 | Jamaica, Cuba, Bahamas, Northeast U.S. |
| Stan | 2005 | Mexico, Central America |
| Tomas | 2010 | Windward Islands, Lesser Antilles, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Cuba, Bahamas |
| Wilma | 2005 | Yucatan, Florida |
1. Tropical storm.
