TAMPA — Floridians knew when Idalia hit the Gulf Coast it joined a long list of destructive Atlantic Ocean storms whose names started with “I.”
Since 1955, 13 Atlantic storm names beginning with “I” have been retired, according to the National Weather Service. That happens when a storm’s death toll or destruction is so severe that using its name again would be insensitive, according to the World Meteorological Organization, which oversees storm naming.
Some letter has to be No. 1, and hurricane season often reaches its peak around the time that the pre-determined alphabetical storm-name list gets to the “I.”
After “I” storms, 10 names that begin with “F” have been retired, as have nine storms beginning with “C,” University of Miami hurricane expert Brian McNoldy said.
In addition to the 13 retired “I” names from Atlantic Ocean hurricanes, a handful of Pacific Ocean storms beginning with “I” have been retired since 1982.
The U.S. began using female names for storms in 1953 partly to avoid confusion and make warnings more efficient by using easy-to-remember names, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Before then, radio stations used to broadcast warnings with numbers and names that confused people. By the late 1970s, male names were also being used for storms in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, according to NOAA.
Notorious I-storms in recent memory have included:
HURRICANE ISABEL
Homes are scattered around flood waters in Hatteras, N.C., Sept. 19, 2003, after flooding from Hurricane Isabel. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)
The 2003 storm reached Category 5 strength over the Atlantic. Though it weakened before making landfall on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, its winds caused extensive damage. More than 8 feet (2.4 meters) of seawater flooded rivers across the Chesapeake Bay region, according to accounts from the National Weather Service. The hurricane was blamed for 17 deaths.
HURRICANE IVAN
A large tanker rests on wrecked boats, Sept. 16, 2004, at Brown’s Marina in Bayou Chico in Pensacola, Fla. (Douglas R. Clifford/St. Petersburg Times, File)
Ivan tore through Grand Cayman island in 2004, damaging or destroying an estimated 95 percent of the buildings there, the National Weather Service said. Then, it slammed into the United States near Gulf Shores, Alabama, spawning more than 100 tornadoes as it moved inland. More than 92 people were killed.
A tractor trailor rests on a section of I-10 bridge that crosses Escambia Bay, in Pensacola, Fla., Sept. 16, 2004, that was washed and damaged by Hurricane Ivan. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
HURRICANE IKE
Cyclists ride past debris piled up on the seawall road after Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast, Sept. 14, 2008, in Galveston, Texas. Hurricanes beginning with the letter “I” have been among the most destructive to strike the United States, moreso than any other letter of the alphabet. Idalia is on a path to strike Florida’s Gulf Coast as a major hurricane to join the long list of catastrophic examples. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
Ike “left a long trail of death and destruction” in Haiti, Cuba and the United States in 2008, the weather service said. An estimated 74 people in Haiti were killed by flooding and mudslides, the agency said. Later, it struck the U.S. as a Category 2 hurricane at Galveston Island in Texas.
Boats and debris are piled up Sept. 13, 2008, in Galveston, Texas after Hurricane Ike hit the area. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool, File)
HURRICANE IDA
A man takes pictures of high waves along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain as Hurricane Ida nears, Aug. 29, 2021, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
Ida slammed into the Louisiana coast with winds of up to 150 mph in 2021, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people across New Orleans and nearby parishes. The deaths included at least five nursing home residents who were among about 800 elderly residents sent to a warehouse to try and survive the storm.
A barge damages a bridge that divides Lafitte, La., and Jean Lafitte, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Aug. 30, 2021, in Lafitte, La. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
HURRICANE IAN
This aerial photo shows damaged homes and debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Sept. 29, 2022, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
Ian struck Cuba as a major hurricane in 2022, bringing down the nation’s electric grid and causing blackouts across large parts of the island nation. Later, as a Category 4 hurricane, it slammed into Florida’s Gulf Coast, flooding houses on both coasts of the state, destroying reefs and bringing “red tide” algae to Gulf waters. Ian was blamed for more than 100 deaths, most of them in Florida.
HURRICANE IDALIA
Idalia struck the Gulf Coast of Florida on August 20, 2023. It brought extensive flooding as it passed through and damaged power lines, leaving thousands without electricity. The Florida highway patrol attributed two deaths from car crashes during heavy rainfall to the hurricane.