All those names are names which were given to Atlantic hurricanes that were subsequently ‘retired’ due having caused significant damage, destruction or impact on people’s lives or their livelihoods. From Carol in 1954, when the ‘retirement’ system started to Otto in 2016.
My esteemed colleague and meteorologist, Chris Bell, posed a bonus question about what was unique about ‘Allison’ (2001). My guess is that it was the only storm in the list which did not become meterologically strong enough to be a hurricane (it remained a tropical storm), but caused enough destruction on the mainland USA to have it’s name retired. (Am I right, Chris? Erika in 2015 also only got to a tropical storm but never hit the USA).
Of course with this bit of fun I am referring to the current three active hurricanes in the Atlantic, Hurricanes Katia, Irma and Jose. It is almost certain that Irma will have its name retired and without a doubt so will Harvey that recently hit Houston, Texas.

Hurricane Harvey. Image credit: Daily Mail
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Published by Kit Marie Rackley (they/she)
Kit Marie Rackley (they/she) is an award-winning ex high-school Geography teacher in the UK. Throughout that time and continuing today, Kit Marie provides teacher continuous professional development (CPD) and training, which previously included a role as Associate Tutor for the School of Education at the University of East Anglia.
Kit Marie has worked as an education consultant and project manager with climate and energy scientists, including researchers based at NOAA Boulder, Colorado and as an educator and trainer at the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco, California, and is now freelance consultant with the UK’s Geographical Association and the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT). They are a published educational author, including works with National Geographic Kids and Diverse Educators.
Kit Marie is a strong and passionate advocate of youth voice and empowerment, decolonising the curriculum, and inclusive and intersectional education. Much of their work revolves around the climate crisis, focusing around framing it as a school safeguarding issue. Kit Marie runs an educational resource blog at Geogramblings.com, and is host and producer of the Coffee & Geography podcast.
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