The name Irene has been retired from the World Meteorological Organization’s list of storm names for the Atlantic Basin. Typically, names are recycled every six years—unless the storms they designate cause massive destruction. When Irene struck last August, she cut quite a swath: 48 deaths (40 in the US) and an estimated $15.8 billion in damages, not to mention devastating inland flooding in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Vermont. What will be the next “I” name on the list? Brace yourself; here comes Hurricane Irma.
