You can deny it all you like but the truth is, if you’re British then you absolutely love talking about the weather. Looking up into the sky to work out whether there’s a chance of rain can keep an office in constant conversation for hours; it’s undoubtedly our fave national pastime.
And the Met Office has now, excitingly, revealed the list of storm names for the coming season.
First introduced in 2015, this is the fourth year the Met Office and Ireland’s Met Éireann have jointly run the ‘Name our Storms’ scheme, aimed at raising awareness of severe weather before it hits.
This year the first storm will be male and named Ali, while the second storm will be female and named Bronagh, following the alternating male/female pattern established by the US National Hurricane Centre in the 1970s.
Does your name make the cut this season?
Evelyn Cusack, Head of Forecasting at Met Éireann, said: “The last 12 months have seen some extreme weather around the globe as well as here at home. While it is too early to say whether the coming winter will be a stormy one or a quiet one we are prepared with a whole new set of 21 names for whatever nature may throw at us.”
How are names chosen?
This season’s names have been compiled from a list of suggestions submitted by the public, choosing some of the most popular names but also selecting names that reflect the culture and diversity of Britain and Ireland. As in previous years, Q, U, X, Y and Z will not be used, to comply with the international storm naming conventions.
Why do they name storms?
Derrick Ryall, Head of Public Weather Services at the Met Office, said: “Naming storms has been proved to raise awareness of severe weather in the UK, providing a consistent message to the public and crucially prompting people to take action to prevent harm to themselves or to their property.”
In a YouGov survey, almost 80% of people questioned found giving storms a name useful for making them aware that the storm may have greater impacts than normal, with 63% agreeing that storm naming was useful to let them know to take action and prepare for the impacts of severe weather.
When is a storm named?
A storm will be named on the basis of ‘medium’ or ‘high’ potential impacts from wind, rain and snow.
(Images: Getty / Met Office)
Latest
Related Reviews and Shortlists
