Does your Uncle James move like a whirlwind? Does your best friend cause an impact wherever they go? Now you can give them the recognition they deserve, by naming a storm after them.
The Met Office is searching for the next round of names ahead of the next storm season, and the UK public are once again being asked for their input.
Names are selected for each letter of the alphabet, except for Q, U, X, Y and Z, in keeping with storm naming conventions.
Make your suggestion
This year, the Met Office is asking people in the UK to submit their suggestions for consideration via its website.
People can submit as many suggestions as they choose and also have the option of adding a reason for their suggestion to help it in consideration. The Met Office will then choose from some of the most popular names suggested.
Entries will close on the 28 June 2021 and the storm names for the 2021/22 storm season, which will begin at the start of September 2021.
Lang: Helps the public engage in the subject
Head of Civil Contingencies at the Met Office, Will Lang, said,
“It’s great to go out to the UK public to get some suggestions of names. It’s incredibly important that everyone understands the potential impacts of severe weather and if having the public submit names for our next round of storms helps them engage in the subject then it’s a great way of raising awareness.
“When storms come, we are obviously at the forefront of assessing its impacts on the people of the UK, and communicating that information succinctly is incredibly important during those times. That’s why storms need names, so people, the media and our meteorologists can better speak about potential impacts when a storm is in the forecast.
“Name our storms is also a great example of international collaboration and we look forward to working further with Met Eireann and KNMI during the next storm season to help keep the public safe.”
Ready for start of storm season
Once the storm names are all submitted, the Met Office will work with Met Eireann and KNMI to determine the definitive list of storm names for the 2021/22 storm season, which will begin at the start of September 2021.
News shared by the Met Office, in their own words. Ed
Image: © Charlie Cripwell
