The Met Office has released the storm names for the 2026-27 winter season, with the public submitting 40,000 name suggestions. The list includes Shaun, a nod to the popular animation Wallace and Gromit.
List runs from September to August
Organisations have 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.
In partnership with Ireland's Met Éireann and the Dutch national weather forecasting service KNMI, the Met Office has confirmed the official list of storm names.
Full list of storm names for 2026/27
Austen, Boelo, Chloe, Dano, Evelyn, Finn, Gwendolyn, Heather, Ivy, Jade, Kilian, Laoise, Mirian, Nicola, Olaf, Phelim, Ruban, Shaun, Theo, Vesna, Wende.
Under naming conventions used for storms in the North Atlantic, the list runs alphabetically, missing out Q, U, X, Y and Z. In the last year, four names were used from the list, reaching the letter D with Storm Dave in April, although the UK also saw impacts from a further three storms named by other European meteorological services – Storms Benjamin, Claudia and Goretti.
How storms get named
In the UK, a storm will be named when it has the potential to cause disruption or damage which could result in an amber or red warning. This is based on the Met Office's National Severe Weather Warnings service, which is a combination of both the impact the weather may have, and the likelihood of those impacts occurring. Storms will usually be named on the basis of the impacts from strong winds, but the impacts of other weather types will also be considered.
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.”
How names are selected
The Met Office said a number of factors were considered for including a name on the list, including how difficult it is to produce, if it has different meanings across the different countries, is connected to a public figure or could be controversial in any way.
To mark its 90th anniversary, Met Éireann selected names that celebrate figures from its history, including 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 RTÉ. The name 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.
