MIDWAY, Fla. (WTXL) -- Two names used for significant Atlantic tropical cyclones from 2015, Erika and Joaquin, are being retired from future use.
Though 2015 was the tenth consecutive season without a hurricane striking the United States mainland, other countries in the Atlantic basin were not as fortunate.
Tropical Storm Erika produced flooding rains in the Caribbean nation of Dominica and mudslides in Haiti. The storm's effect resulted in 31 total deaths in the two locations.
Hurricane Joaquin reached Category 4 strength, lashing out at the central and southeast Bahamas islands. The strongest October hurricane to affect the Bahamas since 1866 also contributed to the sinking of the El Faro cargo ship northeast of Crooked Island, which killed 33 crewmembers.
The hurricane committee of the World Meteorological Organization also retired the name Patricia for the Pacific tropical cyclone name list.
The WMO naming system for the Atlantic uses six lists of names in rotation. The names Elsa and Julian will replace Erika and Joaquin when the list is used again in 2021.
