2008 Hurricane Season Retired Names Now Released

[Anistorm]

According to the World Meteorological Organization, Three names from the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season have been retired and will never be used again.

The Names retired are as follows:

(2008) Gustav---(2014) Gonzalo

(2008) Ike---(2014) Isaias

(2008) Paloma---(2014) Paulette

IMO, I am surprised that Fay didn't get retired at all.

A review of the 2008 Hurricane Season can be found here.

[phw115wvwx]

Gustav, Ike, and Paloma were the three strongest storms from last season, but Hanna was the deadliest by a wide margin despite being just a Category 1 hurricane at its peak.  I wonder if Hanna's toll was devalued due to the over 500 deaths occurring in Haiti, a very poor country that is prone to flooding and has little resources for hurricane protection.  Any storm causing that many deaths in the United States would be retired immediately without question.  Politics seem to play an even bigger role than I realized in these storm name retirements.

[Anistorm]

And for the Eastern Pacific, "Alma" is the only name retired from the 2008 list. The name is now replaced as "Amanda". 

[TWCToday]

Odd names they choose as replacements