Hurricane names Dean, Felix and Noel are retired

The hurricane committee for the World Meteorological Organization retired the names of three major hurricanes that develop during the 2007 season. The names Dean, Felix and Noel will never be used again for tropical cyclones that develop in the Atlantic basin because of the devastation they caused.

While most people in the United States consider last hurricane season a "quiet year," over 300 people died in Central America and the Caribbean because of hurricanes. Both hurricanes Dean and Felix made landfall as category 5 hurricanes, something that has never happened since records began in the mid 1800s. Dean hit the Yucatan peninsula where 32 people died. Felix was responsible for 130 deaths in Nicaragua and Honduras. Noel was a late season storm that only reached category 1 strength, but killed over 160 people in the Caribbean and Bahama islands. Noel also produced widespread power outages and coastal flooding as it moved along the northeast coast of the U.S. and eastern Canada.

Altogether, 70 names have been retired since tropical cyclones were first named in 1953. The names Dean, Felix and Noel will be replaced with Dorian, Fernand and Nestor.