2024 has three Atlantic Hurricanes retired. Most names retired since 2020

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The WMO (World Meteorological Organization) Hurricane Committee has retired the names Beryl, Helene and Milton from its Atlantic basin list and John from the eastern Pacific list due to their destructive impact in 2024. 

These names will be replaced by Brianna, Holly, Miguel and Jake, respectively. There are six active hurricane name lists that cycle through each hurricane season. So these new names will not be used (or have the potential to be used) until the year 2030.

2024 marked the ninth consecutive above-average Atlantic hurricane season with 18 named storms, including 11 hurricanes and 5 major hurricanes (Category 3+). The eastern Pacific season was below average, however. Let’s take a closer look at the retirees. 

Hurricane Beryl became the earliest Atlantic Category 5 hurricane ever recorded. Making landfall as a Category 4 in Grenada on July 1, it devastated Carriacou and Petite Martinique where 98% of homes were damaged or destroyed. Beryl caused 34 direct fatalities across the Caribbean, Jamaica, Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, and the United States.

Hurricane Helene struck Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 4 on September 26, causing catastrophic flooding across the southern Appalachians. With at least 248 fatalities (mostly in the Carolinas), Helene was the deadliest U.S. hurricane since Katrina (2005). Damages reached $78.7 billion, making it the 7th costliest U.S. hurricane. There was a predecessor rain event in the Carolinas for two days before Helene arrived. Rivers and streams were already nearing and surpassing major flood stage. Helene’s tropical rain pushed the western Carolinas to water levels not seen since 1916. 

Helene will forever be remembered in the Carolinas as the worst flooding event in its history.

Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 near Siesta Key, Florida on October 9, after experiencing one of the highest rates of rapid intensification ever observed and reaching Category 5 over the Gulf of Mexico. 

Milton caused 15 deaths (12 in the U.S.) and $34.3 billion in damages, including a historic tornado outbreak across Florida.

Beryl, Milton and Helene are now the 97th, 98th and 99th retired hurricane storm names retired in the Atlantic Ocean Basin over the past 70 years (since 1954). That means the 2025 season could produce the 100th storm or more to be retired in recorded modern history.

Hurricane John hit Guerrero, Mexico as a Category 3 on September 24, causing extreme rainfall and widespread flooding. Acapulco airport recorded 1442.0 mm of rain in just five days—exceeding its annual average. John killed 29 people, damaged over 150,000 homes, and caused $2.45 billion in damages, making it Mexico’s third most expensive Pacific hurricane.