The UK is no stranger to storms, especially in the winter months, and since 2015 these storms have each been named. This is done by the Met Office and their Irish counterpart Met Éireann as well as Dutch institution KNMI.
Naming storms, and sharing the name with nearby countries, means the public can better prepare for the incoming weather. It acts as a call to action for people as it becomes a recognisable entity rather than abstract weather movements.
Storms are only named once they are forecast to have high or medium impact in the UK, Ireland or the Netherlands. These names are suggested by the public, which the Met Office then compiles into a list and cycles through as storms arrive.
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One name this year was chosen via a Twitter poll run by the Met Office but you can suggest names at any time by emailing nameourstorms@metoffice.gov.uk. Betty was the name overwhelmingly chosen by Twitter and will be the second storm of the season.
Met Office Storm Names 2022/23
The gender of storms alternates so if the storm is named with a traditionally masculine name, the following storm will be a feminine name. The Met Office does not use the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z.
Antoni
Betty
Cillian (kill-ee-an)
Daisy
Elliot
Fleur
Glen
Hendrika (hen-dree-ka)
Íde (ee-da)
Johanna (yo-hah-na)
Khalid
Loes (l-oo-s)
Mark
Nelly
Owain (oh-wine)
Priya
Ruadhán (ru-awe-on)
Sam
Tobias
Val
Wouter (vow-ter)
If a storm is named in another country then the media will use the name already given. This also applies to ex-hurricanes coming from the United States, instead of a new name it will be referred to by the American name.
The Met Office aims to represent the breadth of names across the UK in their selection, as well as the Irish and Dutch inclusions. KNMI’s selections this year are after influential Dutch scientists, including Antoni, Hendrika, Johanna and Loes.
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