Met Office invites public to honour loved ones in search for new storm names

The Met Office has invited the public to honour their loved ones as the weather service launched a search for new storm names.

Naming storms helps effective communication among the media and the public regarding the impacts of severe weather events, the forecaster said.

There have been five named storms so far in the 2024/25 season, with Eowyn the last one named on January 21.

Factors to be considered during the naming process include how difficult it might be to pronounce, whether a name has different meanings in different countries and whether it could be controversial.

The Met Office will work with Met Eireann in Ireland and Dutch weather service KMNI to compile the list which will reflect the diversity of the three countries.

Will Lang, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “We all remember the impactful storm names of recent years.

“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.

“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 said 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.”

Names are selected for each letter of the alphabet, apart from Q, U, X, Y and Z.

People are being invited to put forward names on the Met Office website, with the option to add a reason for their suggestion.

The shortlist will be announced in September.

Suggestions can be submitted at www.metoffice.gov.uk/forms/name-our-storms-call-for-names.