Hurricane Names Retired After the 2023 Season

The World Meteorological Society [WMO] has officially announced the retirement of two hurricane names in the Eastern Pacific from the 2023 season. The two names are Otis and Dora. Otilio and Debora will replace them. For the first time since 2014, the WMO has NOT retired a name from the Atlantic Hurricane list of names. According to the WMO, "the names are repeated every six years unless a storm is so deadly that its name is retired."

Otis

The catastrophic storm, Hurricane Otis, was retired "because of the death and destruction it caused when it made landfall in the Mexican resort city of Acapulco in October 2023" according to the WMO. The storm underwent rapid intensification, strengthening from a tropical storm with sustained winds of 50 mph to a major category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 160 mph less than 24 hours later.

The hurricane was responsible for one of the strongest wind gusts ever recorded on Earth - over 200 mph. This hit the tourist town of Aculpulco and due to the rapid intensification, people had little time to evacuate. Sadly, 54 people died with 34 people missing.

Dora

The name "Dora" was retired "not because of direct damage, but because of sensitivities to the name Dora and the indirect meteorological role it played in the devastating wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, in August 2023." The fires in Hawaii were responsible for 101 deaths at last update from the Maui Police Department

While Dora did not come anywhere close to Hawaii (over 400 miles to the South), the pressure gradient created from the Category 4 hurricane storm and a ridge of high pressure to the north of the island contributed to widespread winds of 80+ mph. Dora was a long-lived storm, crossing the eastern and central Pacific, eventually crossing the "International Dateline, becoming a typhoon, before it weakened and reached the western portion of the Pacific."

The World Meteorological Society is responsible for developing the names for tropical systems, and as mentioned above, the list rotates every 6 years. The next time the names from the 2023 season will be used again is 2029. Hurricane season in the Eastern Pacific starts on May 15th and in the Atlantic Basin on June 1. The National Hurricane Center [NHC] has issued a few changes for the 2024 season, including how the cone of uncertainty is displayed.

Stay with WeatherNation as we get closer to the start of Hurricane Season for details on the official forecast and conditions.