somethingfunny wrote:HurricaneRyan wrote:If Joaquin got retired for its boat slaying incident, Lorenzo has a shot. But not a big one. It and Imelda aren't locks for retirement
Joaquin was one of the worst hurricanes to strike the Bahamas in modern history.
Yes, it did a lot of damage there, but the direct death toll on land was zero (in stark contrast to Dorian). I think the Bahamas damage PLUS the 34 at-sea fatalities was adequate for retirement for Joaquin, but I'm reluctant to retire a storm based solely on lives lost at sea. Both incidents are eyebrow-raising though at least to me, it's simply mind-boggling and without excuse that vessels are sailing into major hurricanes in the satellite era.
Barry 2% - Minimal Cat 1. impact, plenty of storms of similar strength and impact level have struck the Gulf Coast and the names re-used, it didn't do anything exceptionally destructive for its strength unlike Imelda or Allison.
Dorian 100% -This name has surely been used for the second and final time, after replacing a name (Dean) that was likewise retired for a destructive Cat. 5 landfall.
Fernand 2% - Damaging flooding, but only one fatality and Mexico seems to retire Atlantic landfalls less readily than Pacific ones. Patricia was retired; despite its exceptional intensity at both peak and landfall it hit a sparsely populated area and wasn't nearly as catastrophic as it might have been, while the costlier and deadlier Emily of 2005 was not.
Humberto 2% - Despite being described by at least one Bermudian on this very forum as "worse than Fabian," it caused no fatalities in the island territory. Unlike the northern Bahamas or U.S. Gulf Coast, they are not surge-prone and are generally well built to withstand even a solid major hurricane strike. It would take an exceptionally violent (Dorian or Irma in the Leewards-level) landfall/direct hit to do major damage there.
Imelda 35% - A name-worthy 35kt TS for a mere six hours, this system did all its damage through rainfall and the associated freshwater flooding. It sounds like things got really bad in and around Beaumont, but overall scope was much less than Harvey or Allison, and the death toll much lower than either. Other low-end TCs have caused damaging flooding in this part of southeast Texas with a low death toll and not been retired (Claudette).
Lorenzo 3% - It remains to be seen what its impacts in the Azores will be, but Portugal is not part of the WMO committee capable of requesting retirement. It also remains to be seen if any more survivors from the
Bourbon Rhode will be found (unlikely at this point), but given France's penchant for retirement I gave it a 1% boost over the other marginal cases.