Why Tropical Storm Debby wasn’t retired after it impacted Florida the last time
Hurricane naming lists rotate every six years, so the 2024 list was last used in 2018. However, if any storms from the list are particularly destructive and deadly, the World Meteorological Organization can vote to retire their names from being used again in the future.
How hurricanes get their names
How and why hurricanes get their names have evolved over the past century.
If the name "Debby" sounds familiar to weather watchers, it is likely because tropical storms and hurricanes with the same name have been crisscrossing the Atlantic basin since the early 1980s.
Despite occurrences of cyclones named "Debby" every six years, none of the events have been considered significant enough by the World Meteorological Organization to meet the threshold of retirement.
This includes impacts in 2012, when a tropical storm named "Debby" struck Florida’s Big Bend, causing at least a quarter of a billion dollars in damage throughout the Southeast and the deaths of eight people.
RETIRED HURRICANE NAMES STILL IN ROTATION DESPITE THEIR DISASTROUS HISTORY
Estimated rainfall from Tropical Storm Debby in 2012 (FOX Weather)
On June 26, the slow-moving tropical storm made landfall near Steinhatchee, Florida with maximum sustained winds of only around 40 mph.
The cyclone dropped nearly 30 inches of rainfall over communities in North Florida, causing sinkholes and widespread flooding.
Floridians described the flooding as the worst event since Hurricane Dora in 1964.
Interstate 10 was shut down between Jacksonville and Tallahassee as floodwaters covered the highway, and thousands of homes were reported damaged across the state.
In Central and South Florida, feeder bands on the eastern and southeastern sides of the tropical cyclone caused a tornado outbreak, with at least two dozen reports of twisters.
Parts of the state were declared a federal disaster area by President Barack Obama, which helped many rural areas during the cleanup and recovery stages.
Following the hurricane season, a meeting of the World Meteorological Organization did not vote to replace the name "Debby," but did retire the name "Sandy," which was estimated to have caused $70 billion in damage across the Eastern Seaboard about four months after Florida's disaster.
A combination of 19 named storms and ten hurricanes made 2012 the fifth most costly tropical cyclone season on record for the U.S.
BEWARE OF THE ‘I’ STORM: IT HAS MORE RETIREES THAN ANY LETTER USED FOR ATLANTIC HURRICANE NAMES
The World Meteorological Organization’s hurricane committee does not require a specific threshold of storm damage to trigger the retirement of a cyclone's name.
Between 1954 and 2022, 87 names have been removed from the rotation due to their association with significant destruction in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico or Caribbean Sea.
Recent names retired from lists include Fiona and Ian from 2022 and Ida in 2021.
If Debby of 2024 does not cause substantial damage or result in significant loss of life, the name will be reused during the 2030 hurricane season.
A list of the five costliest hurricanes in U.S. history. (FOX Weather)