The death and devastation in 2018 from Atlantic Hurricanes Florence and Michael was so severe that their names were permanently retired from the World Meteorological Organization’s list of storm names.
Florence, which made landfall in September on the North Carolina coast, brought catastrophic flooding to the Carolinas and Virginia. It caused over 50 deaths and an estimated $30-60 billion in damage. Michael, which came ashore along the Florida panhandle in October, was one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall in the contiguous U.S., causing at least 45 deaths and an estimated $30 billion in damage.