2004 What-might-have-been Atlantic hurricane season (Cooper - Hyperactive)

The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history, shattering numerous records. The impact of the season was widespread and catastrophic, with an estimated 5,309 deaths and total damages of $142.9 billion, the costliest on record until 2017. Almost all of the season's damages were caused by five of its seven major hurricanes—Frances, Ivan, Julia, Mitch, and Richard—which were responsible for most of the deaths and damages in the 2004 season. The most catastrophic effects from the season were felt in Central America and the United States. Hurricane Ivan, the season's most intense storm and the second-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, skirted dangerously close to Nicaragua and struck the Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 5 hurricane before making landfall in Alabama as a Category 4 hurricane. Ivan was the season's costliest storm, causing $94.7 billion (2004 USD) in damages, primarily in the United States. Hurricane Mitch was the season's deadliest storm, causing an estimated 2,304 fatalities in Central America as a Category 5 hurricane.

The 2004 season officially ran from June 1 to November 30 of that year. The first system to develop was Hurricane Andrew, an extremely rare June major hurricane that stayed out at sea. The season officially ended on November 30, although the season's last storm pushed the season beyond its usual end date when Tropical Storm Delta dissipated on December 9. The 2004 was the first and only season to use names from the Greek alphabet for storms.

Storm Names
The following names were used for storms that formed in the north Atlantic during 2004. This list is the same list that was used for the 1998 season, with the exception of Julia, which replaced Jeanne. All 21 names were used in the 2004 season, so additional storms were named using the Greek alphabet. Storms were named Julia, Paula, Richard, Shary, Tobias, Virginie, Walter, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta for the first (and only, in the cases of Julia and Richard) time in 2004. Greek Names

Retirement
In the spring of 2005, the World Meteorological Association retired five hurricane names: Frances, Ivan, Julia, Mitch, and Richard. Their replacements in the 2010 season were Fiona, Igor, Jessica, Matthew, and Robert. The name Igor, however, was retired after a single use in 2010 and replaced with Ian. With five names retired, the 2004 season holds the record for the most names retired in a single season.