Met Éireann releases list of new storm names for next season

By Cate McCurry, PA

Met Éireann has released the list of new storm names for the next storm season, which starts on Sunday.

The national meteorological service, along with the national weather services of the UK (the Met Office) and the Netherlands (KNMI), have each contributed seven names to this season’s list.

Met Éireann’s contributions have been taken from a list of more than 500 suggestions by primary school children participating in ESB Science Blast last February.

The full 2024/25 list is Ashley, Bert, Conall, Darragh, Eowyn, Floris, Gerben, Hugo, Izzy, James, Kayleigh, Lewis, Mavis, Naoise, Otje, Poppy, Rafi, Sayuri, Tilly, Vivienne and Wren.

Ireland contributed the names Conall, Darragh, Hugo, Izzy, Naoise, Poppy and Vivienne.

The letters Q, U, X, Y, Z are not included, in line with the US National Hurricane Centre’s naming convention.

Eoin Sherlock, head of the forecasting division at Met Éireann, said: “Our key priority is to help protect life and property from extreme weather and ensure the safety of our communities.

“Year after year storm naming proves effective for that. Naming each storm increases the level of public safety and preparedness as people are more likely to and respond to warnings when storms are named.

“Ireland, and the world, are experiencing the effects of severe weather events more frequently and more intensely as a result of climate change.

“We see how severe wind and rain events can directly impact public health, safety, and livelihoods.

“Now, more than ever, it is crucial for younger generations to understand these risks so that they can safeguard their future by driving societal change, and their involvement in the names selection this year is proof of Met Eireann’s commitment to their weather and climate awareness.

“We are entering storm season, so we advise people to prepare now for the possibility of severe weather.

“Basically ‘Be Winter Ready’, as public safety advice outlines. It is important to stay up to date on the latest forecasts and warnings on met.ie or on Met Eireann’s app.”

Storms are named when they could have “medium” or “high” impacts in one of the three partner countries.

This enables consistent and authoritative messaging to the public and other stakeholders to enable them to prepare for and stay safe during potentially severe weather events.

When a storm is forecast, the national weather service that expects the biggest impact from the severe weather to hit its region, or is likely to be first affected by it, names the storm.

Storm naming happens in conjunction with orange/red weather warnings, which could be for wind, rain or snow or a combination of these conditions.

Those warnings are issued based on a combination of numerical thresholds and the potential impacts foreseen.

Since 2015, Met Éireann and the UK Met Office have been working together on the naming programme and were ed by the Netherland’s KNMI in 2019.

UK Met Office head of situational awareness Will Lang said: “This is the 10th year of us naming storms and we do it because it works.

“Naming storms helps to make communication of severe weather easier and provides clarity when people could be impacted by the weather.

“For Storm Babet, which brought exceptional rainfall to parts of eastern Scotland in October 2023, post-event surveys suggest 97 per cent of people within the amber and red warning areas were aware of the warnings and 89 per cent of them took action as a result.

“This year, as we celebrate our 170th birthday, it’s great to be able to honour those who have had an impact on our long history of pioneering weather and climate science services.”