WMO Hurricane Committee retires Gustav, Ike, Paloma, Alma

[HurricaneRobert]

Those names are pretty bad. Also, Isaias sounds too much like Isaac.

[Brent]

Gustav, Ike, and Paloma were retired, to be replaced with Gonzalo, Isaias, and Paulette.

Alma in the EPAC was retired, replaced with Amanda.

What a bunch of dumb names, much worse than the previous ones. Gonzalo? Isaias?(how do you even pronounce that?), and enough with the similar P names.

On the other hand the EPAC got a BETTER name. Alma sounded like your great great grandma and Amanda is such a nice name.

[somethingfunny]

I was actually expecting Isaiah to replace Isaac whenever it gets retired (at the rate we go through "I" storms, soon) to stay with the biblical theme, but I guess the theming is kind of irrelevant. I wonder what the aversion to using Ian is though? Ike, Igor, Isaias, Ida....these are some obscure names.

One thing I have noticed about the 2009 list (List 1) is how much shorter and Americanized the names are than the other 5 lists. Ana, Bill, Danny, Erika, Fred, Grace, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Sam....it's definitely the most American namelist of the bunch.

[somethingfunny]

2009
Ana
Bill
Claudette
Danny
Erika
Fred
Grace
Henri
Ida
Joaquin
Kate
Larry
Mindy
Nicholas
Odette
Peter
Rose
Sam
Teresa
Victor
Wanda

2010
Alex
Bonnie
Colin
Danielle
Earl
Fiona
Gaston
Hermine
Igor
Julia
Karl
Lisa
Matthew
Nicole
Otto
Paula
Richard
Shary
Tomas
Virginie
Walter

2011
Arlene
Bret
Cindy
Don
Emily
Franklin
Gert
Harvey
Irene
Jose
Katia
Lee
Maria
Nate
Ophelia
Philippe
Rina
Sean
Tammy
Vince
Whitney

2012
Alberto
Beryl
Chris
Debby
Ernesto
Florence
Gordon
Helene
Isaac
Joyce
Kirk
Leslie
Michael
Nadine
Oscar
Patty
Rafael
Sandy
Tony
Valerie
William

2013
Andrea
Barry
Chantal
Dorian
Erin
Fernand
Gabrielle
Humberto
Ingrid
Jerry
Karen
Lorenzo
Melissa
Nestor
Olga
Pablo
Rebekah
Sebastien
Tanya
Van
Wendy

2014
Arthur
Bertha
Cristobal
Dolly
Edouard
Fay
Gonzalo
Hanna
Isaias
Josephine
Kyle
Laura
Marco
Nana
Omar
Paulette
Rene
Sally
Teddy
Vicky
Wilfred

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml

[somethingfunny]

Here is the new list for the Eastern Pacific:

2009
Andres
Blanca
Carlos
Dolores
Enrique
Felicia
Guillermo
Hilda
Ignacio
Jimena
Kevin
Linda
Marty
Nora
Olaf
Patricia
Rick
Sandra
Terry
Vivian
Waldo
Xina
York
Zelda

2010
Agatha
Blas
Celia
Darby
Estelle
Frank
Georgette
Howard
Isis
Javier
Kay
Lester
Madeline
Newton
Orlene
Paine
Roslyn
Seymour
Tina
Virgil
Winifred
Xavier
Yolanda
Zeke

2011
Adrian
Beatriz
Calvin
Dora
Eugene
Fernanda
Greg
Hilary
Irwin
Jova
Kenneth
Lidia
Max
Norma
Otis
Pilar
Ramon
Selma
Todd
Veronica
Wiley
Xina
York
Zelda

2012
Aletta
Bud
Carlotta
Daniel
Emilia
Fabio
Gilma
Hector
Ileana
John
Kristy
Lane
Miriam
Norman
Olivia
Paul
Rosa
Sergio
Tara
Vicente
Willa
Xavier
Yolanda
Zeke

2013
Alvin
Barbara
Cosme
Dalila
Erick
Flossie
Gil
Henriette
Ivo
Juliette
Kiko
Lorena
Manuel
Narda
Octave
Priscilla
Raymond
Sonia
Tico
Velma
Wallis
Xina
York
Zelda

2014
Amanda
Boris
Cristina
Douglas
Elida
Fausto
Genevieve
Hernan
Iselle
Julio
Karina
Lowell
Marie
Norbert
Odile
Polo
Rachel
Simon
Trudy
Vance
Winnie
Xavier
Yolanda
Zeke

[somethingfunny]

Speaking of names that sound similar in the Atlantic and E-Pac.....what is Celia doing on the 2010 list?

[Cainer]

So, Gustav, Ike & Paloma are out... Count me as surprised that Hanna wasn't retired. I mean, I know that the deforestation and bad hurricane warning system in the country tends to lead to higher death tolls, but still... 530 is a lot of people dead. Also, the new names are a bit nasty. Isias? REALLY? Ah well, I suppose they have been running out of I names at a pretty steady rate these past few years. Also a bit surprised that Paloma was knocked off; I'm guessing the Cayman Islands requested its retirement?

[somethingfunny]

I think that for Cubans, Paloma was kind of like Florida's Jeanne in 2004 -- Not especially damaging, but definitely the exclamation point on an extremely traumatizing hurricane season that won't soon be forgotten. Cuba probably requested the retirement.

As for Hanna, remember 1994's Gordon?

[Ad Novoxium]

Gustav, Ike, and Paloma were retired, to be replaced with Gonzalo, Isaias, and Paulette.

Alma in the EPAC was retired, replaced with Amanda.

Amanda is a good name (and I was thinking that Alma was going to get axed).

In the Atlantic, I must ask: Did they go lazy with the replacement names?

[Brent]

Why was Alma retired anyway? 4 direct deaths and $35 million in damage. Hardly a blip on the radar today.

and color me surprised Hanna wasn't. Paloma seems like a bit of a stretch.

[HURAKAN]

I don't understand why they retired Alma, except that it was exceptional compared to what is normal for EPAC cyclones.

[somethingfunny]

Honestly, I think the NHC just got tired of the name. Alma has been around in both basins for AGES.

[Ed Mahmoud]

Honestly, I think the NHC just got tired of the name. Alma has been around in both basins for AGES.

There is an ostioneria called "Alma Latina" not too far from my house.

I remember breaking Ash Wednesday fast there a few years back with a most yummy Mexican sea food cocktail with shrimp and pulpo in it called "Vuelve a Vida" (sp?).

Ishmael would have been a good "I" name, not just Biblical, also a Moby Dick reference.

[HurricaneRobert]

On the other hand the EPAC got a BETTER name. Alma sounded like your great great grandma and Amanda is such a nice name.

That's what I said about Paloma and Nana. They really should've taken Nana with them. I think the use of the name Alma for destructive storms might've been offensive to Catholics, so they finally removed it. It's been around for ages, but so was Adolph.

[HURAKAN]

Alma is Spanish for Soul.

[CrazyC83]

Hanna - did you manage to find a hole in your ?

I definitely agree Hanna should have been retired as well. (I'd have put Heather on in its place for the 2014 list) Dolly and Fay I can understand leaving on the lists though due to fairly low death tolls and the damage from them these days was not exceptional.

I wonder if the Caymans retired Paloma? Since damage was really bad there (compared to Cuba even).

Is it possible to get a country not affected to make a case? Since it seems Haiti doesn't care. This is the second time in 15 years they flubbed an obvious case. (Knowing them, had Jeanne not turned back into Florida, they might have let that one get away too)

[CrazyC83]

Why was Alma retired anyway? 4 direct deaths and $35 million in damage. Hardly a blip on the radar today.

and color me surprised Hanna wasn't. Paloma seems like a bit of a stretch.

Could Alma from 1966 have played a role?

[HURAKAN]

Could Alma from 1966 have played a role?

According to what I know, when a name is retired in one basin, it can be used in another. I don't expect Alma 1966 to have played a role.

[HURAKAN]

I don't understand why they retired Alma, except that it was exceptional compared to what is normal for EPAC cyclones.

"Due to its unusual location of formation and the damage in Nicaragua, the name Alma was retired by the WMO on April 22, 2009."

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Pacif ... Retirement

Good guess.
_____________________________________________

"Upon being retired, Alma became the first tropical storm in the eastern Pacific basin to be retired, also making it the weakest storm to be retired."

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Alma

[AnnularCane]

Unusual location of formation? Is that even a criteria?