Arkansas Storm Team Blog: Why do people say 'Beware the "I" named storm'?
When referring to the Atlantic hurricane season, people often say 'beware the "I" named storm'. But why is this a phrase, and what makes the "I" named storm so ominous? Since 1954, the letter "I" has had the most retired tropical system names of any letter used each year in the Atlantic hurricane naming list. The World Meteorological Organization is in charge of creating the name lists each year, and they decide which storms are retired.
A storm is retired when a particularly impactful system causes extreme destruction, loss of life, and cost to rebuild. Out of respect and sensitivity for those who dealt with the catastrophic events from such an impactful storm, the World Meteorological Organization retires the name and replaces it with a new name on the next lists. Overall, 13 "I" named storms have been retired. The next leading letter is "F" with 10 retired storm names since 1954.
The "I" storm, or the 9th name on the Atlantic hurricane list each season, often falls in a very active period in the Atlantic. From August 20 to October 10, this is the most active period of hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin. The historic peak of hurricane season occurs on September 10. The "I" name is often assigned to a tropical system that appears in the Basin in this active period when the waters are very warm and the atmosphere can usually support strong systems.
Since 1954, the World Meteorological Organization has retired Ian, Ida, Igor, Ike, Inez, Ingrid, Ione, Irene, Iris, Irma, Isabel, Isidore, and Ivan. However, there have been "I" named storms that were impactful, but not enough to be retired. Two examples of these would be Idalia and Isaias.
from KARK https://ift.tt/CGTozlt
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