These are the Met Office storm names for winter 2022/2023
Betty, Cillian, Daisy, Elliot and Glen are among the new storm names revealed by the English, Dutch and Irish weather services that we'll be watching out for in the coming year.
Why does the Met Office name storms?
Now in the eighth year of the Name our Storms campaign, the system aims to raise awareness of severe weather before it hits. Storms are named when they cause a medium to high impact, with names often being chosen for light-hearted reasons.
What are the Met Office storm names for 2022/2023?
The storm names are Antoni, Betty, Cillian, Daisy, Elliot, Fleur, Glen, Hendrika, Ide, Johanna, Khalid, Loes, Mark, Nelly, Owain, Priya, Ruadhan, Sam, Tobias, Val, and Wouter.
There are no storms beginning with the letter Q, U, X, Y and Z to comply with the international storm naming conventions.
"As storms are not confined to national borders, it makes a lot of sense to give common names to such extreme weather events," Gerard van der Steenhoven, director general at Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) told the Met Office.
"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."
The first storm of the year will be called Antoni, followed by Betty and Cillian — a name thought to be popularised by Peaky Blinders actor Cillian Murphy.
"We know from seven years of doing this that naming storms works," Met Office's Will Lang, head of situational awareness, told Sky News. "Last year, Storms Arwen and Eunice brought some severe impacts to the UK and we know that naming storms helps to raise awareness and give the public the information they need to stay safe in times of severe weather."
How does the Met Office name storms?
The storm names are suggested by the public and then compiled by the three National met services.
"When the criteria for naming a storm are met, either the Met Office, Met Éireann or KNMI can name a storm," the Met Office says. "We then let the public, our partners in government and the responder community and the media know through various routes including publishing details on our website and social media channels."
Evelyn Cusack, head of forecasting at Met Éireann, told the BBC she wanted to provide a "clear and consistent message to the public and encouraging people to take action to prevent harm to themselves or to their properties at times of severe weather".
To find out more about Name our Storms you can visit the Met Office Storm Centre.
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