© NOAATropical Storm Rina as seen by NOAA satellite late Tuesday afternoon
Rina is the 17th named storm of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. This puts the 2017 season in a tie for ninth place for the most named storms on record in any Atlantic hurricane season since 1851.
The "R" storm has only been named in the Atlantic five other times since 1950, when formal hurricane names started being used. This occurred in 2012 (Rafael), 2011 (Rina - yep, same name), 2010 (Richard), 2005 (Rita) and 1995 (Roxanne).
Both Rita in 2005 and Roxanne in 1995 ended up being retired for the destruction they caused. Rina, the "R" name in this year's Atlantic tropical cyclone name list, is the replacement for Rita.
All five of the previous Atlantic "R" storms reached hurricane strength, according to meteorologist Bob Henson of wunderground.com. Rina is also the first "R" storm to form as late as November, Henson added.
Tropical Storm Rina is unlikely to become a hurricane as it enters the cooler waters of the northern Atlantic Ocean and merges with a cold front midweek, which will transition it into a post-tropical low-pressure system.
Retired 'R' Storms
At peak intensity, September 2005's Hurricane Rita was stronger than all but three other Atlantic Basin hurricanes, occupying the elite sub-900-millibar minimum surface pressure club, with a minimum pressure of 895 millibars. Peak winds reached 180 mph as the storm rapidly intensified.
Rita made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in Johnson's Bayou, Louisiana, between Sabine Pass, Texas, and Holly Beach, Louisiana, with winds of 120 mph. Severe to catastrophic flooding and wind damage were observed in southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas near the landfall location.
Along its path, Rita caused $15.6 billion in damage when adjusted for inflation, and 120 deaths were reported in four U.S. states as a direct result of the hurricane.
Hurricane Roxanne in October 1995 did not affect the United States but struck Mexico as a Category 3 hurricane with 115-mph winds, making landfall near Cozumel, Mexico, on the Yucatan Peninsula.
Due to its slow movement, the hurricane brought heavy rainfall and widespread flooding across southern Mexico, destroying crops, washing out roads and damaging tens of thousands of homes.
Roxanne caused $2.4 billion in damage when adjusted for inflation, and at least 29 fatalities were reported.
Comment: The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said 2017 so far has been "well above average" in terms of the number of storm activity, compared to the 1981-2010 average. Tropical Storm Rina is due to bring rain and wind to Ireland and UK later this week.