The devastation from these 2 catastrophic 2018 Atlantic hurricanes was so intense, their names will never be used again
Hurricane Michael made landfall in Mexico Beach, Florida as a Category 4 storm with winds as high as 155 miles per hour. This video shows significant coastal flooding due to storm surges.
Never again will another Florence nor Michael devastate and forever alter the lives of those living along the eastern United States coastline in any future Atlantic hurricane seasons, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced this week.
The names of these two catastrophic storms, which wreaked havoc and claimed lives from Florida to Virginia during the 2018 season, have been retired by the WMO’s Region IV Hurricane Committee, which includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Hurricane Center.
Hurricanes Florence and Michael join the list of what is now 88 retired names from the Atlantic basin list since 1953, the year that storms were first named. That list includes Katrina, Wilma, Sandy, Andrew and Harvey, among other vicious storms.
The Region IV Hurricane Committee convenes annually to review the previous hurricane season and discuss ways to improve public safety and protect lives for the upcoming season.
Only the names of notably deadly and destructive storms are removed from the cycle of names reused every six years. These names are retired if future use of them for other storms would be considered insensitive, according to the WMO.
As one of the costliest and most lethal hurricanes ever to strike the Carolinas, Florence made landfall on the morning of Sept. 14, 2018, near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, as a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 90 mph at landfall.
Its slow movement inland drenched the Carolinas with heavy rain, storm surge and record extensive flooding, which also impacted Virginia. “Elizabethtown, Swansboro and Gurganus, North Carolina, received over 30 inches of rain from Hurricane Florence,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Paul Walker.
The powerful hurricane killed at least 51 people and caused more than $24 billion in damage, according to NOAA.
One month later on Oct. 10, one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall in the contiguous U.S. hit Mexico Beach, Florida. Just 2 miles per hour shy of reaching Category 5 status, Category 4 Hurricane Michael pounded the Florida Panhandle with sustained winds of 155 mph as it approached the shoreline.
“This was the third-most intense hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous U.S. based on central pressure and the fourth-most intense based on wind speed,” Walker said.
Satellite imagery captured Hurricane Michael's approach to the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. (Photo/National Hurricane Center)
Michael was also the most intense hurricane on record to make landfall along the Florida Panhandle, where it triggered deadly and widespread devastating impacts, which extended farther inland into Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia.
“Estimated storm surge with Michael was 9 to 14 feet from Mexico Beach to Indian Pass, leading to life-threatening and extensive significant damage,” Walker said.
Candace Phillips sifts through what was her third-floor bedroom while returning to her damaged home in Mexico Beach, Florida, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2018, in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael. "We spent 25 years of our marriage working to get here and we're going to stay," said Phillips of her and husband's plans to rebuild. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The historic hurricane claimed the lives of at least 45 people. The Florida Forest Service reported that the state’s timber damage costs exceeded $1.2 billion dollars as a result of Michael, with almost 3 million acres of forested land left damaged.
The committee replaced Florence and Michael with the names Francine and Milton, which will appear for the first time on the 2024 list of storm names.
Currently, the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season holds the record for the most retired names from one season, with five names eliminated from future use.
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