ORLANDO, Fla. — The name Ida will never again be used to label a hurricane.
“Ida” was retired Wednesday from the list of tropical storm names during the World Meteorological Organization’s annual hurricane conference due to the overwhelming damages it caused last year — the third busiest storm season on Atlantic record.
Last year, tropical storms and hurricane damages cost the United States $80 billion — $75 billion of which was caused by Category 4 Hurricane Ida, making it the fifth costliest storm in U.S. history, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But those estimates weren’t just the $55 billion in property and coastal damages observed in Louisiana, where Ida made landfall. After marching inland toward the northeastern U.S. with heavy rain and floodwaters, Ida racked up another $20 billion as a post-tropical storm — the most since Super Storm Sandy in 2012.
