2004 WMHB Atlantic hurricane season

The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history, shattering numerous records. The season's impact was catastrophic, with over $190 billion (2004 USD) in damages and an estimated 4,017 deaths. Almost all of the season's damages was caused by five of its seven major hurricanes - Andrew, Ivan, Mitch, Richard, and Virginie. The season officially started on June 1 and ended on November 30, dates which conventionally delimit the period of each year in which most tropical cyclones form in the north Atlantic. However, storms formed in the Atlantic in every month of the season plus December in 2004.

The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season was the first season in history to observe more tropical cyclones in the Atlantic than the East Pacific, a basin which is usually more active. This event was repeated in the following year and in 2010. The 2005 season featured the most major hurricanes and most Category 5 hurricanes in a single season. Hurricane Ivan was also the second-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded with wind speeds of 190 mph (305 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 887 mbar. Only Hurricane Gilbert of 1988 was more intense than Ivan.

Storm Names
Below is a list of names used for systems that reached at least tropical storm intensity in 2004. This list is the same list that was used in the 1998 season with the only exceptions being Julia and Nevaeh, which replaced Jeanne and Nicole. The 2004 season was the only season to use all of the names on its list. Thus, names from the greek alphabet were used for three more storms, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma.

Retirement
In the spring of 2005 at its annual meeting, the World Meteorological Association retired the names Andrew, Ivan, Mitch, Richard, and Virginie from its rotating name lists. They were replaced with Alex, Igor, Matthew, Robert, and Vanessa for the 2010 season. The name Igor, however, was retired after a single use and replaced by Ian. The World Meteorological Association determined that it was not sensible to retire a name from the Greek alphabet, and that they will be used again in the future if needed.