No More Sandy: Deadly Storm Name Retired - East Idaho News
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No More Sandy: Deadly Storm Name Retired

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GETTY N 11612 SeasideHeights?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1365701688663Mark Wilson/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — So long, Sandy. The World Meteorological Organization is retiring the name “Sandy” from its list of Atlantic storm names.

The deadliest hurricane of 2012 strafed Jamaica and Cuba before slamming the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. in October. At least 147 people were killed along Sandy’s path, including 72 in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the U.S., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

When Sandy came ashore near Brigantine, N.J., it was a powerful sub-tropical cyclone packed with damaging high winds and pushing a storm surge that caused widespread flooding. Sandy caused an estimated $50 billion in damage, the second-costliest storm to hit the United States since Katrina.

Storm names — which are reused every six years — are occasionally removed from the list out of respect for victims and to avoid confusion with future storms. The last name retired was “Irene,” a hurricane that struck the Caribbean and Atlantic coast of the U.S. in the summer of 2011.

Sandy is the 77th name retired from the Atlantic storm list since 1954, NOAA said.

Taking Sandy’s place on the list: “Sara.”

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