Sunday 16 September 2018

Why do storms have names?

Storm Ophelia was one of the biggest storms to hit the UK last year.

Before that we had Storm Aileen and Storm Doris.

So what will be the big storms coming our way over the next year be called?

The Met Office, which keeps track of the weather here, have released their new list of names for 2018 and 2019.

On it is: Ali, Bronagh, Callum, Deirdre, Erik, Freya, Gareth, Hannah, Idris, Jane, Kevin, Lily, Max, Niamh, Oliver, Peggy, Ross, Saoirse, Tristan, Violet, Wyn.

These are the big storms we're going to be talking about over the coming year
Why do storms have names?
The Met Office decided to start giving storms boys and girls names back in 2014, in the same way they do in America.

The first windstorm to be named was Abigail on 10 November 2015.

The Met Office hoped that naming big storms will make people more aware of them and how dangerous they can be.

They think it will be easier to follow the progress of a storm on the TV, radio, or on social media, if it has a name.

Derrick Ryall, from the Met Office, said: "We have seen how naming storms elsewhere in the world raises awareness of severe weather before it strikes."

How are the names picked?
In September 2015 the Met Office started a special campaign called Name Our Storms, asking the public to send in their suggestions for names.

The most popular names put forward by the public are made into a list along with other names suggested by Met Éireann (Ireland's equivalent of the Met Office).

They're not currently looking for any new names, but if you do have an amazing suggestion you can still send it to the Met Office for future consideration.

But not every storm to hit the UK, gets it's name from the list.

Lots of storms start off in the US before crossing Atlantic towards the UK - to avoid any confusion, they keep the name they were given by the National Weather Service in the US.


How big do storms have to be to get a name?
Not all storms will be big enough to get names - only those expected to cause significant damage.

A storm will be named when it has the potential to cause an amber 'be prepared' or red 'take action' warning.

Who decides if they're named after girls or boys?
The UK storms will take it in turns to be girls' or boys' names.

Strangely, research shows that hurricanes with female names are more likely to hurt more people than those with males names.

Scientists think that's because people find female names less threatening.


Which storm name will be picked first?
They will be taken from the list in alphabetical order.

But there are no storms that start with the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z.

That's because the US National Hurricane Centre leave out names that begin with these letters.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) spokesman said: "It's just too difficult to find names beginning with X,Y and Z."

The Met Office have done the same thing, to make sure official storm naming in the North Atlantic is consistent.

(Source: BBC)

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