Atlantic hurricanes starting with ‘I’ typically bring death and destruction. Isaias is up next

Be wary of hurricanes that start with the letter “I.” Be wary of hurricanes that start with the letter “I.” The ninth letter of the alphabet leads all others in the number of named Atlantic storms that have been retired over the decades due to their destruction or high death tolls. Next up is Isaias, which became the first hurricane of the Atlantic season on Wednesday night.

Whether it lives up to the misery of others whose first letter it shares remains to be seen. The latest forecast appeared to be less dramatic than those of other scarier storms. Isaias was expected to make landfall on the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

“We just have to be prepared for the worst,” said Jeff Collier, mayor of Dauphin Island, Alabama, a 15-mile (24-kilometer) long barrier island at the mouth of Mobile Bay. “We take all of the storms seriously, once they get into the Gulf.” Atlantic hurricanes have been given names since 1953, and 100 of them are no longer used. There have been 14 storms with “I” names retired, including 12 this century.

When eastern and central Pacific hurricanes are considered, that retired “I” list grows to 20. Ten Atlantic storm names starting with “F” have been retired, followed by “C” with nine, and “D” and “M” with eight apiece, according to a list compiled by the hurricane center. Why I is such a foreboding letter Hurricanes starting with “I” typically occur in the middle of the June 1-Nov.

30 season, when warming ocean waters can supercharge a storm’s energy. The timing of Isaias is an exception to this trend, due to the current super El Niño weather pattern, which stunted Atlantic hurricane formations through September while cranking out storms throughout the Pacific region. Isaias came one day shy of tying a 121-year-old record for the latest-forming initial hurricane of the Atlantic season.

‘I’ storms prove to be costly Of the 55 costliest hurricanes to hit the United States, a dozen began with the letter “I”, including four in the top 10. Category 4 Ian in 2022 came in at No. Ian hammered Florida with such ferocity that it wiped out whole neighborhoods, tossed boats onto highways, swept away beaches and swamped homes in roof-deep waters.