Retired EPAC hurricanes... a question

[Hurricanehink]

Does anyone (or any met) know why Hurricane Fico or Fefa were retired? Neither of their damages were that great. I heard from somewhere that Fico was due to its name meaning something inappropriate in Italian (it means fig, which means something small and worthless). Is Fefa a similar situation? Thanks if anyone can help.

[StormScanWx]

Same with Knut in the 80s, that name was retired (or removed)

[Hurricanehink]

Yea, I'm fairly sure Knut in 1987 and Iva in 1988 were removed, not retired (per the latest WMO document). Neither affected land. However, both Fefa and Fico did affect land, which makes me curious whether they were simply removed or if they were retired due to their effects.

[Ptarmigan]

Same with Knut in the 80s, that name was retired (or removed)

I wonder why that one was removed?

[Hurricanehink]

The WMO document listed these reasons for removal other than retirement. "... due to pronunciation ambiguity, a socially unacceptable meaning in another language language, or because they represented a significant human disaster". I'd guess the first reason was the reason.

[HurricaneBill]

I think Knut was probably confusing. I've heard it pronounced both ways ("noot" and "ka-noot").

Plus, if you switch the "u" and "n" around, it looks like a derrogatory word against women.

[HurricaneBill]

As for Iva, I think Iva was removed because it looked too much like Iwa, the hurricane that struck Hawaii in 1982.

[Aslkahuna]

Iwa was also the worst hurricane to hit HI until Iniki. Another factor is that the Hawaiian w is pronounced as a v so the two names would have sounded the same.

Steve

[HURAKAN]

WIKIPEDIA

"Adolph was removed following the 2001 season for political reasons, due to the name's connection to Adolf Hitler. It will be replaced in the 2007 Pacific hurricane season by Alvin.

Israel was also removed from the list during the season. It originally replaced Ismael, but due to its connection with Israel and the unfortunate coincidence that the first name of 2001 was Adolph, this was changed to Ivo after the season began, but before it reached the "I" storm."

"Due to the damage and deaths, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name Ismael with Israel, another Spanish name beginning with the letter "I" set to be used in the 2001 Pacific hurricane season. During the 2001 season, a reporter stationed in Israel felt offense from the name choice, and the president of the Anti-Defamation League felt it was insensitive. Hundreds of people sent e-mails or called the National Hurricane Center, and as a result Max Mayfield called the members of the World Meteorological Organization.[12] The name Israel was replaced with Ivo during the season, and is on the naming list for the 2007 Pacific hurricane season.[13]"


You had Adolph and Israel in the same list, due to political reason both had to be drop.

[Calasanjy]

My guess would be that Knut was removed due to the pronunciation ambiguity (some people would have inevitably switched the "u" and the "n" in pronunciation). I don't think the NHC would just randomly decide to remove a name for being "foreign" and/or a little difficult to pronounce for some folks, as there are plenty of names like that that were allowed to remain on the list.

[Aslkahuna]

NHC does not remove or retire names from any lists-the WMO does. NHC can recommend just as the Meteorological Agencies from the affected Countries can but it's all up to the WMO.

Steve

[HurricaneBill]

I think I read somewhere that after the Israel/Adolph fiasco and also Frances in 2004, the WMO said it will no longer remove storm names for political reasons.