Met Office invites public to name 2025/26 storms

News and Info from Deeside, Flintshire, North Wales

The Met Office has launched its annual appeal for the public to suggest names for storms that could impact the UK during the 2025/26 season.

Now in its eleventh year, the storm naming initiative is a collaboration between the Met Office, Met Éireann in Ireland, and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI).

It aims to help raise awareness of severe weather and improve communication around its impacts.

Will Lang, Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “We all remember the impactful storm names of recent years. Whether it’s Eunice, Franklin, Bert or another impactful event, the storm naming system has helped us communicate weather to help people stay safe.

“Now we need the UK public to help us compile this year’s list. Whether you want to honour a weather-lover in your family, remember a family pet or get a friend’s name in the headlines, we welcome submissions from the public to help us pull together next year’s list of storm names.”

[The list of 2024/2025 storm names]

He added: “We name storms because it works. For Storm Éowyn in January, the UK’s most powerful windstorm for over a decade, post-event surveys suggest that 99% of people within the red warning area were aware of the warnings, and 89% of them took action.”

Submissions can be made online and may include a reason for the chosen name.

Names must be easy to pronounce, culturally appropriate across the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands, and must not include the letters Q, U, X, Y or Z, in line with international storm naming conventions.

Each participating meteorological service selects names for specific letters of the alphabet. The final list will be published in early September, before the start of the storm season.

The first named storm will begin with the letter A.

The deadline for submissions is 3 July 2025.