RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season was the ninth successive season with above average activity, and three hurricanes names from the historic season will never be used again.
Beryl, Helene and Milton have all been retired by the World Meteorological Organization.
"The WMO Hurricane Committee has retired the names Beryl, Helene and Milton from its Atlantic basin name list and John from the eastern Pacific basin name list because of the death and destruction these storms caused in 2024," the WMO said Wednesday.
Brianna, Holly, Miguel will replace them on the rotating list, which is next up in 2030.
Hurricane Beryl was the earliest Atlantic basin Category 5 hurricane on record, with major impacts in the Caribbean. It made an eventual landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Houston in July. Beryl is responsible for 34 direct fatalities.
Hurricane Helene was the deadliest hurricane to affect the continental U.S. since Katrina in 2005, with more than 248 killed, the majority in North Carolina and South Carolina. Damage was estimated at $78.7 billion making it the 7th costliest U.S. hurricane ever. It was the deadliest and costliest hurricane to strike North Carolina in recorded history, with the NC mountains bearing the brunt of the storm, made worse by a predecessor rainfall event (PRE) in the days before Helene made landfall.
Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key, Florida, on October 9. Milton's rate of rapid intensification in the Gulf of Mexico was among the highest ever observed. Milton caused 15 fatalities (12 in the U.S.) and an estimated $34.3 billion in damages.
The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season begins in less than two months, on June 1.
