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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
World
Kate Lally

Storm Malik: How storms get their names and what storm is next

Storm Malik will be the first storm to hit Merseyside this year, with a "danger to life" warning issued by the Met Office.

Much of the country is set to be battered by strong winds and wet weather from Saturday (January 29).

Gusts could reach up to 80mph, with Merseyside being issued with a yellow weather warning from Sunday to Monday.

READ MORE: Met Office issues 'danger to life' warning for Merseyside

While Malik is the first storm to hit us, it is not actually on the Met Office's latest list.

The Met Office has a full list of storm names for the current storm season - which runs until the end of August 2022.

Storm Malik is not on this list, and has in fact been named by Danish forecasters.

Storm Arwen left a path of destruction on Merseyside when it hit in November 2021.

In Formby, huge trees on Kirklake Road fell down blocking the road and narrowly missing homes.

Across the water in Hoylake on Valentia Road a huge tree fell, bringing up the pavement and blocking the road.

One resident in West Kirby also captured photos of a huge tree which had fallen on top of a car.

When Storm Barra hit in December, the region was battered by strong winds, torrential rain and flooding

When is a storm named?

Criteria for the Met Office naming storms is based on the National Service Weather Warnings service.

It is decided depending on the impact the weather may have and how likely it is to happen.

Storms names are only issued when it could reach an amber or red warning.

The Met Office lists storms alphabetically but skips Q, U, X, Y and Z to comply with international storm-naming conventions and to maintain consistency for official storm naming in the North Atlantic.

Suggesting a storm name

The Met Office site said they received thousands of suggestions for storm names after asking people to send their ideas.

A new list will eventually be put together and the Met Office says people are welcome to suggest names for future consideration.

The Met Office names storms in association with Ireland’s Met Eireann and the Netherland’s KNMI meteorology service, and the next storm to directly impact Ireland, the Netherlands or the UK will be called Storm Corrie.

Other names listed for storms in the current season are: Dudley, Eunice, Franklin, Gladys, Herman, Imani, Jack, Kim, Logan, Méabh, Nasim, Olwen, Pól, Ruby, Seán, Tineke, Vergil, and Willemien.

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