The Met Office has unveiled the official list of storm names for the 2026-27 season – including tributes to loved ones, favourite pets and even an animated sheep.
Austen, Boelo and Chloe will be the first named storms of this winter, meteorologists revealed, after more than 40,000 suggestions were submitted by the public.
Weather watchers also submitted names in honour of a five-year-old weather enthusiast, a much-loved Labrador puppy, meteorological pioneers and Shaun the Sheep from the popular animation Wallace and Gromit.
Despite their amusing origins, the Met Office said the purpose of naming storms is also serious as it helps people take notice, prepare and stay safe in severe weather.
It, along with Ireland’s Met Eireann and the Dutch national weather forecasting service KNMI, has been naming storms since 2015, with the list running from early September to the following August.
It coincides with the start of autumn when the likelihood of low-pressure systems and the potential for storms severe enough to be named increases.
Holly Clements, Met Office head of warnings and guidance, said: ‘For more than a decade, storm naming has helped us communicate the risks from severe weather more effectively.
‘A named storm provides a clear focus for forecasts and warnings, helping more people understand the potential impacts and take action to protect themselves, their families and their property.’
The Met Office has unveiled the official list of storm names for the 2026-27 season – including tributes to loved ones, favourite pets and even an animated sheep
The Met Office has unveiled the official list of storm names for the 2026-27 season – including tributes to loved ones, favourite pets and even an animated sheep. Pictured: Waves batter Porthcawl, Cornwall during Storm Amy last year
In the last year, four names were used from the list: Storm Amy, Storm Bram, Storm Chandra (pictured), and Storm Dave
In the last year, four names were used from the list, reaching the letter D with Storm Dave at the start of April.
However, the UK also saw impacts from a further three storms named by other European meteorological services – Storms Benjamin, Claudia and Goretti.
Under naming conventions used for storms in the North Atlantic, the list runs alphabetically, missing out Q, U, X, Y and Z.
The third name in this year’s list, Chloe, was selected by the Met Office after being put forward more than 120 times, including by the mother of a five-year-old weather enthusiast who is ‘fascinated by the weather’ but can also ‘create a storm by herself’ when she is tired.
The name Finn was suggested for a two-year-old boy described by his family as ‘wild and a force to be reckoned with’.
Meanwhile Ivy was nominated in honour of a nine-month-old Labrador puppy affectionately known as ‘the absolute destructor’.
Nicola was put forward as a tribute to a mother who has ‘weathered many a storm and only come out stronger’, while Theo was inspired by a cat who would hide before thunderstorms, leading his owner to joke that he could predict the weather.
Shaun also joined the list following a public vote that was run as part of a collaboration with the British animation studio Aardman, which was behind the beloved show Wallace and Gromit.
Storm Chandra brought extremely heavy rainfall that led to severe flooding across the UK. Pictured: Axminster fire station flooded by Storm Chandra
Austen, Boelo and Chloe will be the first named storms of this winter, meteorologists revealed, after more than 40,000 suggestions were submitted by the public. Pictured: Storm Amy arrives over the UK in 2025
The aim of the collaboration was to reach new audiences and encourage conversations on preparedness for severe weather.
To mark its 90th anniversary, Met Eireann selected names that celebrate figures from its history.
This includes Austen, in honour of Austen Nagle, the first director of the Irish Meteorological Service and Evelyn Murphy, the first woman to present the weather on Ireland’s national public service broadcaster RTE.
Meanwhile, KNMI picked names from more than 3,000 suggestions submitted by the public, including Boelo – a nearly extinct name from the east Groningen region that has been passed down through the nominator’s family for generations.
Eoin Sherlock, Met Eireann head of forecasting division, said: ‘We know that naming storms makes it easier for people to track important and up-to-date forecast and safety-related information as we can see from the levels of traffic and activity through our website and across social media platforms during storm events.’
The Met Office said a number of factors were considered for including a name on the list, including how difficult it is to pronounce, if it has different meanings across the different countries, is connected to a public figure or could be controversial in any way.
Storms are given a name when they are deemed to have the potential to cause medium or high impacts in the UK, Ireland or the Netherlands, with wind the primary focus, although additional issues from rain or snow will also be looked at.
