Why does the Met Office name storms and how are they chosen?

The Met Office names storms when they have the potential to cause an amber or red weather warning
PA
Ellena Cruse25 August 2020

Storm Francis has brought strong winds and heavy downpours to vast swathes of the UK.

The storm comes after an earlier period of unseasonable weather towards the end of last week, which coincided with the arrival of Storm Ellen.

Such weather events are named so their cycles can be charted around the world.

So, here's what you need to know about that process:

Naming storms helps the Met Office provide better information about a weather event through the media and government partners
Getty Images

How are storms named?

In Europe, storms are named annually as a joint enterprise between the Met Office, the Irish meteorological service, Met Éireann, and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI).

The storms are named alphabetically meaning that the first storm of the season will begin with the letter ‘A’ and then the next one start with the letter ‘B’ and so on, and usually alternate between names associated with male and female gender.

After Francis, Gerda and Hugh are next on this year's list, which is set in advance.

Why are storms named?

Naming storms helps the Met Office provide better information about a weather event through the media and government partners.

This in turn helps the public have a better idea of what is in store, allowing them to prepare and plan.

Can I suggest a storm name?

Anyone can suggest a storm name and the Met Office receives thousands of ideas each year.

It then meets with Met Éireann and KNMI to jointly finalise the choices.

Workmen clear up after tree fell on speed camera in Tilehurst, Reading
PA

The Met Office receives nominations through social media and email and the best way to contact them is by emailing pressoffice@metoffice.gov.uk

When are storms named?

According to the Met Office, the decision for a storm to be named is "based on a combination of both the impact the weather may have, and the likelihood of those impacts occurring".

The weather service says "a storm will be named when it has the potential to cause an amber or red warning".

People walk through flying sea foam spray in Porthcawl
Getty Images

"Other weather types will also be considered, specifically rain if its impact could lead to flooding as advised by the Environment Agency, SEPA and Natural Resources Wales flood warnings," it adds.

"Therefore 'storms systems' could be named on the basis of impacts from the wind but also include the impacts of rain and snow."

Why are there no storms for Q, U, X, Y and Z?

The Met Office will not consider names beginning with Q, U, X, Y and Z.

Rather than not liking the end of the alphabet, the Met Office avoids these letters to fit in with US National Hurricane Centre naming conventions.

By doing so it ensures there is consistency around the world when covering storms in the North Atlantic.

UK versus US storm names

To avoid confusion, if a storm seen in the UK is the remnants of a tropical storm or hurricane that has moved across the Atlantic, the Met Office will not give it a new name.

It will refer to it as the name it was given by the National Weather Service in the US and put “ex” in front of it.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in