Scotland has suffered its first named storm of the 24/25 season, as Storm Ashley brought 80mph winds and rain over the weekend.
As well as heavy rainfall, weather warnings were issued across much of the country and weather experts have cautioned that more storms are on the way.
Last year set a record for named storms since 2015, with 12 recorded between September and August, reports the Scottish Daily Express.
If the past year is any indication, Storm Bert is just around the corner, as it’s the next name on the Met Office list, followed by Storm Conall and Storm Darragh.
If we experience as many storms as last year, we could reach Storm Lewis. While reaching Storm Mavis, will set a new record.
The Met Office works with Met Éireann in the Republic of Ireland and KNMI in the Netherlands to name storms.
Weather forecasters say naming storms help improve public awareness, alerting them to the severity of the storm, ensuring “a consistent message” is communicated to the British public.
Anyone can propose a name by completing an online form on the Met Office website. However, to align with the US hurricane naming convention, names cannot start with Q, U, X, Y, or Z.
Last year’s storm season began earlier, with Storm Agnes hitting on September 27, then Storm Babet, which resulted in a red warning for the North-East of Scotland in mid-October. Additionally, Storm Ciaran came at the end of the month, followed by Storm Debi in November.
December saw three named storms—Elin, Fergus, and Gerritt—arriving just days after Christmas. January also experienced three storms, followed by a break until April with Storm Kathleen and concluding with Storm Lillian in August – although storms tend to mostly happen in the autum and winter months.
The Met Office states that storms are named “when it has the potential to cause disruption or damage which could result in an amber or red warning”.
Describing the rise in storm activity last year, Met Office meteorologist and presenter Annie Shuttleworth stated: “While we have had some drier and calmer interludes, the stormy nature of the UK’s autumn and winter so far is chiefly dictated by the position and strength of the jet stream, which is a column of air high up in the atmosphere.
“The jet stream greatly influences the weather we experience in the UK and during recent months this has largely been directed towards the UK and Ireland, helping to deepen low pressure systems. These systems have been directed towards the UK and have eventually become named storms due to the strong winds and heavy rain they bring.”
Read below for the full list of official storm names officially named by expert forecasters.
Storm names for 2024/25
- Ashley
- Bert
- Conall
- Darragh
- Éowyn
- Floris
- Gerben
- Hugo
- Izzy
- James
- Kayleigh
- Lewis
- Mavis
- Naoise
- Otje
- Poppy
- Rafi
- Sayuri
- Tilly
- Vivienne
- Wren
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