Floridians pray that when Idalia hits the Gulf Coast it won’t join the long list of destructive Atlantic Ocean storms whose names started with “I.” Since 1955, 13 Atlantic storm names beginning with “I” have been retired, according to the National Weather Service. That happens when a storm’s death toll or destruction is so severe that using its name again would be insensitive. After “I” storms, 10 names that begin with “F” have been retired. Why? Hurricane season often reaches its peak around the time that the pre-determined alphabetical storm-name list gets to the “I.”
