2019 and 2020 Cyclones Retirement (both years to be announced in 2021)

[ElectricStorm]

Eta will be the storm that brings a change to how we name storms after we run out of names on the main list. Catastrophic for CA, and it may even regenerate

[NorthieStangl]

When it's up in the air if either Delta and/or Zeta will be requested to be "retired", there is absolutely no way that Nicaragua would pass up retiring Eta.

If it end up being a Mitch-style storm for both Nicaragua and Honduras - which I'm certain it will be - the committee REALLY need to reconsider its 2006 choice in not removing "retired" names from the Greek alphabet. Seriously, that was a bad idea from the beginning.

[Ubuntwo]

With at least 70 deaths and a flooding catastrophe, Eta looks like a retirement lock.

[GSBHurricane]

How do you retire a Greek letter though? You can't replace the letter with another. And saying "Eta 2020" is retired but allowing Eta to be used again immediately could cause confusion if there's multiple storms of the same Greek letter that are retirement worthy in the future. So would you just skip it the letter indefinitely?

[ElectricStorm]

How do you retire a Greek letter though? You can't replace the letter with another. And saying "Eta 2020" is retired but allowing Eta to be used again immediately could cause confusion if there's multiple storms of the same Greek letter that are retirement worthy in the future. So would you just skip it the letter indefinitely?

That's why there needs to be a serious discussion about the way storms are named after the main list is used up. Simple solution: just make a 7th list of names and use those as an auxiliary list. Or just do what the WPAC does. I'd actually rather do WPAC style, that way the same letters aren't used in peak season all the time and we end up getting weird replacement names like Isaias

[ClarCari]

How do you retire a Greek letter though? You can't replace the letter with another. And saying "Eta 2020" is retired but allowing Eta to be used again immediately could cause confusion if there's multiple storms of the same Greek letter that are retirement worthy in the future. So would you just skip it the letter indefinitely?

That's why there needs to be a serious discussion about the way storms are named after the main list is used up. Simple solution: just make a 7th list of names and use those as an auxiliary list. Or just do what the WPAC does. I'd actually rather do WPAC style, that way the same letters aren't used in peak season all the time and we end up getting weird replacement names like Isaias

Actually, Isaias is the original pronunciation and Isaiah is the “weird” name invented by us english speakers because our phonetics are screwed. It’s inappropriate to call proper names used to represent countries in the Atlantic weird names so please don’t.

Anyways, I agree with an update to auxiliary or at least the discussion, but 0% chance the NHC will go like WPAC because our public is already used to the alphabet per-season.

[aspen]

Eta’s death toll continues to rise, now up to 181 (150 in Guatemala alone). Who knows how high it’ll get. The widespread, devastating, and deadly flooding from Eta is way more than enough to warrant retirement. Looks like this will be the one to make the WHO rethink the rules on Greek names.

[CrazyC83]

I agree, we need to "retire" the Greek Alphabet and bring a new procedure.

I think two things should happen: like in the EPAC, there should be an X, Y and Z name alternating every other year. In addition, a new List 7 and List 8 should be added. They would be auxiliary lists with List 7 used in odd years (with a female A name) and List 8 in even years (with a male A name). In the EPAC, those lists would also be used in the other years - List 7 in odd and List 8 in even. Names would be retired normally.

[aspen]

I agree, we need to "retire" the Greek Alphabet and bring a new procedure.

I think two things should happen: like in the EPAC, there should be an X, Y and Z name alternating every other year. In addition, a new List 7 and List 8 should be added. They would be auxiliary lists with List 7 used in odd years (with a female A name) and List 8 in even years (with a male A name). In the EPAC, those lists would also be used in the other years - List 7 in odd and List 8 in even. Names would be retired normally.

The 2020 Greeks certainly seem like they want to be retired. They’ve collectively caused >$7.4 billion in damages and >284 fatalities, and three of them — Delta, Zeta, and Eta — have at least some arguments for retirement, with Eta being the most likely contender. There’s no way we should be using Eta again after it has devastated Central America and killed hundreds of people.

[SconnieCane]

I agree, we need to "retire" the Greek Alphabet and bring a new procedure.

I think two things should happen: like in the EPAC, there should be an X, Y and Z name alternating every other year. In addition, a new List 7 and List 8 should be added. They would be auxiliary lists with List 7 used in odd years (with a female A name) and List 8 in even years (with a male A name). In the EPAC, those lists would also be used in the other years - List 7 in odd and List 8 in even. Names would be retired normally.

The 2020 Greeks certainly seem like they want to be retired. They’ve collectively caused >$7.4 billion in damages and >284 fatalities, and three of them — Delta, Zeta, and Eta — have at least some arguments for retirement, with Eta being the most likely contender. There’s no way we should be using Eta again after it has devastated Central America and killed hundreds of people.

I think part of the problem with the original rationale for "unretireable" Greek names was the assumption that they wouldn't recur often enough for it to be an issue (who'd have thought only 15 years between uses), and that any Greek-named storms would most likely be late season oddballs out in the open subtropical Atlantic (like Delta and Epsilon of 2005).

[CrazyC83]

I agree, we need to "retire" the Greek Alphabet and bring a new procedure.

I think two things should happen: like in the EPAC, there should be an X, Y and Z name alternating every other year. In addition, a new List 7 and List 8 should be added. They would be auxiliary lists with List 7 used in odd years (with a female A name) and List 8 in even years (with a male A name). In the EPAC, those lists would also be used in the other years - List 7 in odd and List 8 in even. Names would be retired normally.

The 2020 Greeks certainly seem like they want to be retired. They’ve collectively caused >$7.4 billion in damages and >284 fatalities, and three of them — Delta, Zeta, and Eta — have at least some arguments for retirement, with Eta being the most likely contender. There’s no way we should be using Eta again after it has devastated Central America and killed hundreds of people.

And we're still not done. I agree, Eta would be a retirement lock if it were a normal name, up there with Laura.

[Iceresistance]

Eta’s death toll continues to rise, now up to 181 (150 in Guatemala alone). Who knows how high it’ll get. The widespread, devastating, and deadly flooding from Eta is way more than enough to warrant retirement. Looks like this will be the one to make the WHO rethink the rules on Greek names.

Now over 260.

[Iceresistance]

I was thinking that the only way Greek names could be retired as 'Eta 2020' due to the extreme rarity of these names.



And we are getting deeper into the greek names, what next? Hebrew?

[ElectricStorm]

I was thinking that the only way Greek names could be retired as 'Eta 2020' due to the extreme rarity of these names.



And we are getting deeper into the greek names, what next? Hebrew?

That's how they currently would be retired. However some posters on here including myself would like to see some changes to that method

[Iceresistance]

I was thinking that the only way Greek names could be retired as 'Eta 2020' due to the extreme rarity of these names.



And we are getting deeper into the greek names, what next? Hebrew?

That's how they currently would be retired. However some posters on here including myself would like to see some changes to that method

Only time will tell on the retirement suggestments.

[aspen]

It’s crazy that there are six names with cases for retirement this year, and possibly a seventh.
—Isaias: $4.7 billion in damages across a large swath of the East Coast, including areas that rarely see TC impacts
—Laura: $14.1 billion in damages and 77 fatalities from a 130 kt landfall in SW Louisiana, the strongest landfall in that area
—Sally: >$5 billion in damages from a borderline C3 landfall and slow movement
—Delta: $4.1 billion in damages after making landfall in the same area ravaged by Laura
—Zeta: $3.2 billion in damages from an extremely rare borderline C3 landfall and pass over New Orleans...at the end of October
—Eta: >$5.2 billion in damages and >160 fatalities after a devastating 120 kt landfall in Nicaragua and flooding from a multi-day stall over Central America
—Iota: looks like this is going to be yet another disaster for Central America, because apparently 2020 has absolutely no idea when it’s time to stop

Who would’ve expected that the Greeks would end up as some of the strongest and most impactful storms of the season? I had a feeling this year could challenge the “no retirement policy” for the Greeks, and it certainly has in a very 2020 fashion: making absolutely no sense and being the worst possible outcome.

[underthwx]

It’s crazy that there are six names with cases for retirement this year, and possibly a seventh.
—Isaias: $4.7 billion in damages across a large swath of the East Coast, including areas that rarely see TC impacts
—Laura: $14.1 billion in damages and 77 fatalities from a 130 kt landfall in SW Louisiana, the strongest landfall in that area
—Sally: >$5 billion in damages from a borderline C3 landfall and slow movement
—Delta: $4.1 billion in damages after making landfall in the same area ravaged by Laura
—Zeta: $3.2 billion in damages from an extremely rare borderline C3 landfall and pass over New Orleans...at the end of October
—Eta: >$5.2 billion in damages and >160 fatalities after a devastating 120 kt landfall in Nicaragua and flooding from a multi-day stall over Central America
—Iota: looks like this is going to be yet another disaster for Central America, because apparently 2020 has absolutely no idea when it’s time to stop

Who would’ve expected that the Greeks would end up as some of the strongest and most impactful storms of the season? I had a feeling this year could challenge the “no retirement policy” for the Greeks, and it certainly has in a very 2020 fashion: making absolutely no sense and being the worst possible outcome.

ETA for example, could be retired and omitted from the list, and just not used again..... Iota is fixin to most likely be another major, let's see if hopefully it can remain weak...

[CrazyC83]

It’s crazy that there are six names with cases for retirement this year, and possibly a seventh.
—Isaias: $4.7 billion in damages across a large swath of the East Coast, including areas that rarely see TC impacts
—Laura: $14.1 billion in damages and 77 fatalities from a 130 kt landfall in SW Louisiana, the strongest landfall in that area
—Sally: >$5 billion in damages from a borderline C3 landfall and slow movement
—Delta: $4.1 billion in damages after making landfall in the same area ravaged by Laura
—Zeta: $3.2 billion in damages from an extremely rare borderline C3 landfall and pass over New Orleans...at the end of October
—Eta: >$5.2 billion in damages and >160 fatalities after a devastating 120 kt landfall in Nicaragua and flooding from a multi-day stall over Central America
—Iota: looks like this is going to be yet another disaster for Central America, because apparently 2020 has absolutely no idea when it’s time to stop

Who would’ve expected that the Greeks would end up as some of the strongest and most impactful storms of the season? I had a feeling this year could challenge the “no retirement policy” for the Greeks, and it certainly has in a very 2020 fashion: making absolutely no sense and being the worst possible outcome.

Yet, of the natural names, only Laura is a sure-fire retirement. The Greeks will be a big discussion on how to treat it going forward.

[GSBHurricane]

Now that Ambo, Quinta, Rolly, and Ulysses have all been decomissioned by PAGASA, I wonder if their WMO counterparts (Vongfong, Molave, Goni, and Vamco) will follow suit into the hall of retirement.

[Hypercane_Kyle]

It’s crazythat there are six names with cases for retirement this year, and possibly a seventh.
—Isaias: $4.7 billion in damages across a large swath of the East Coast, including areas that rarely see TC impacts
—Laura: $14.1 billion in damages and 77 fatalities from a 130 kt landfall in SW Louisiana, the strongest landfall in that area
—Sally: >$5 billion in damages from a borderline C3 landfall and slow movement
—Delta: $4.1 billion in damages after making landfall in the same area ravaged by Laura
—Zeta: $3.2 billion in damages from an extremely rare borderline C3 landfall and pass over New Orleans...at the end of October
—Eta: >$5.2 billion in damages and >160 fatalities after a devastating 120 kt landfall in Nicaragua and flooding from a multi-day stall over Central America
—Iota: looks like this is going to be yet another disaster for Central America, because apparently 2020 has absolutely no idea when it’s time to stop

Who would’ve expected that the Greeks would end up as some of the strongest and most impactful storms of the season? I had a feeling this year could challenge the “no retirement policy” for the Greeks, and it certainly has in a very 2020 fashion: making absolutely no sense and being the worst possible outcome.

Yet, of the natural names, only Laura is a sure-fire retirement. The Greeks will be a big discussion on how to treat it going forward.

Yeah, quite a strange situation when the majority of the destructive storms this season have all been in the Greek alphabet. I don't think anyone predicted that.