Ever fancied getting yourself named after a storm? This could be your time!
This is because the Met Office have invited the public to honour any loved ones, by getting a storm named after them. The national forecaster have said that this can help effective communication among the media and public regarding the impacts of severe weather events.
So far in 2024/2025, there have been five storms, with the most recent Storm Eowyn, arriving on January 21.
The Met Office are to work in tandem with Met Eireann in Ireland, along with Dutch weather service KMNI in order to curate a list reflecting diversity across different countries.
For the naming process, several factors are taken into consideration, including how difficult it might be to pronounce, if the name has different meanings in different countries and controversy. The names are also selected from each letter of the alphabet.
“We all remember the impactful storm names of recent years", Will Lang, chief meteorologist at the Met Office said. “Whether it’s Eunice, Franklin, Bert or another impactful event, the storm-naming system has helped us communicate weather to help people stay safe".
“Now we need the UK public to help us compile this year’s list", he added. “Whether you want to honour a weather lover in your family, remember a family pet or get a friend’s name in the headlines, we welcome submissions from the public to help us pull together next year’s list of storm names".
Mr Lang also stated that storms are named because “it works”, adding: “For Storm Eowyn in January, the UK’s most powerful windstorm for over a decade, post-event surveys suggest that 99% of people within the red warning area were aware of the warnings, and 89% of them took action".
The Met Office are inviting people to put names forward on their website, with the option to add a reason also included. People can apply for this here.
The new shortlist will be announced in September.
