Met Office reveals storm names for 2020-21 which includes the Welsh name from ‘Sunshine’
As we enter Meteorological autumn the Met Office has revealed its list of storm names for the UK which begins with storm ‘Aiden’, while the second storm will be ‘Bella’.
The Welsh Name “Heulwen” meaning sunshine appears on the list which has been released today.
As in previous years, Q, U, X, Y and Z will not be used, to comply with the international storm naming conventions.
The Met Office, along with its partners Met Éireann and Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) name the season’s storms to “help to raise awareness of the potential impacts of severe weather before it arrives.”
Similar to previous years, the 2020/2021 list has been compiled from names suggested by the public along with names that reflect the diversity of the three nations, the Mett Office has said.
Will Lang, Head of the National Severe Weather Warning Service at the Met Office, said: “We are now entering our sixth year of the Name our Storms campaign and we look forward to working closely with our colleagues in Ireland and the Netherlands once again, continuing to raise awareness of the potential impacts of severe weather in order to keep people across our nations safe.
“The impacts from Storm Ciara and Dennis earlier this year are still fresh in many people’s minds and although it’s too early to anticipate what weather this autumn and winter will bring, we are prepared with a new list of names to help raise awareness of severe weather before it hits.”
Evelyn Cusack, Head of Forecasting at Met Éireann, said: “This summer has closed with Storms Ellen and Francis bringing wet and windy weather to our shores.”
“As we begin the new storm season for 2020-21, Met Éireann forecasters look forward to working in close co-operation with our colleagues in the UK and Netherlands by continuing to provide a clear and consistent message to the public, encouraging people to take action to prevent harm to themselves or to their property at times of severe weather.”
Gerard van der Steenhoven, Director General at Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) said: “We gladly continue our collaboration with the UK Met Office and Met Éireann on storm forecasting. As storms are not confined to national borders, it makes a lot of sense to give common names to such extreme weather events.”
“As many people often travel between our countries, the use of common names will make it a lot easier for them to appreciate the hazards represented by a large storm system. For us at KNMI, it is a great privilege and advantage to work in close co-operation with our colleagues from Ireland and the UK in the communication about storms.”
