Goodbye, Helene. Storm that battered NC dropped from list of future hurricane names
The name Helene has officially been retired for big storms birthed in the Atlantic Ocean due to the death and destruction that Hurricane Helene caused last fall.
The World Meteorological Organization, which maintains a running list of major storm names, announced April 2 that Helene is no longer a candidate for Atlantic basin tropical storms and hurricanes.
Helene was the deadliest hurricane in the United States since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, killing 248 people in multiple states. North Carolina, especially the state’s mountain counties, were extremely hard hit.
The official death toll in this state is 106 people so far. Just this week police recovered the remains of Russell Wilber, a man missing since Helene struck here on Sept. 27. Five people remain missing.
Zeb Smathers, the mayor of Canton in Haywood County, said he is relieved he won’t have to hear about another storm called Helene in the future.
People in Western North Carolina, are still only steps into recovery six months after the storm, and are afraid that their struggles will be forgotten, he said. Honoring the legacy of the storm’s destruction and lives lost is vital, he added.
“If I never have to hear that name again, it’ll be too soon,” said Smathers. “But I don’t want anyone to forget what we went through, the good and the bad and what we’re still going through… Every single life needs to be remembered.”
Matt Wechtel, chair of Madison County Board of Commissioners, said nearly the exact same thing.
“If I never heard the name Helene ever again, I’ll die a happy man,” he said.
Total damages from Hurricane Helene total $78.7 billion, making it the seventh costliest hurricane to ever hit the United States, a WMO release states.
In North Carolina the storm damaged more than 73,000 homes, according to a state action plan. It could cost $12.7 billion to repair the homes. In addition, many roads, public utilities and businesses were damaged.
Helene isn’t the only name WMO has knocked off its list of candidates for the Atlantic. Beryl and Milton have also been retired due to their destruction in the Caribbean and Florida, respectively.
The three names have been replaced by Brianna, Holly and Miguel in the list. The organization also retired the name John from its eastern Pacific list and replaced it with Jake.
The WMO draws tropical storm and hurricane names from one of six lists each year, according to the National Hurricane Center. The alphabetical lists alternate between male and female names, and omit names that begin with letters Q, U, X, Y and Z.
The lists rotate each year, so names pulled from in 2024 can be repeated in 2030.
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 4:55 PM.
