Man killed by falling tree as Storm Henk disruption continues
Copyright: BBC
The UK Met Office and Irish service Met Eireann launched their first “Name our Storms” campaign in 2015.
They followed the example of the US, which has been naming tropical storms in the 1950s.
The idea was to make it easier for people to engage with weather forecasts, as it was thought naming storms made them more relatable – and easier to discuss and compare over time.
In the UK, the Met Office names any storm when it has the potential to cause disruption or damage which could result in an amber or red warning.
Most years, they draw the names from a shortlist of favourites submitted by the public, but for the 2023-24 season, the Met Office has slightly changed its methods and has named a number of storms after prominent scientists, meteorologists and, in its words, others “who work to keep people safe in times of severe weather”.