The UK’s Met Office, Ireland’s Met Éirean, and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) have revealed their list of names for the upcoming 2024/25 storm season. This year, the naming scheme takes on a special significance, honoring three prominent figures in the history of weather forecasting.
The chosen names pay tribute to Group Captain James Stagg, a World War Two meteorologist who played a crucial role in the D-Day landings; Lewis Fry Richardson, a mathematical genius who pioneered the concept of numerical weather prediction; and Mavis Hinds, a computer pioneer who helped translate this theory into an operational process.
Will Lang, head of situational awareness at the Met Office, explains the reasoning behind the naming system. “This is the tenth year of us naming and we do it because it works,” he says. “Naming storms helps to make it easier and provides clarity when people could be impacted by the weather.”
Storms are named alphabetically, excluding Q, U, X, Y, and Z to align with international standards. The names are selected from a list published at the beginning of each season, with each organization contributing seven names. A storm is given a name when it is predicted to have a ‘medium’ or ‘high’ impact on the UK or the Netherlands. While wind is the primary factor, rain or snow impacts are also considered.
The naming system runs from early September to late August 2025, coinciding with the period when low-pressure systems and named storms are most likely to occur. This year, the names were suggested by participants at an environment fair and children at a STEM event. The first three storms of the season will be Ashley, Bert, and Conall, followed by Darragh, Éowyn, Floris, Gerben, Hugo, and Izzy.
J is dedicated to Group Captain James Martin Stagg, who served as the chief meteorologist responsible for advising General Eisenhower on the weather forecast for the D-Day invasion. Stagg and his team accurately predicted poor weather conditions on June 5, 1944, leading Eisenhower to postpone the invasion. However, they also identified a narrow window of favorable weather on June 6, enabling the successful launch of the invasion.
The letter L is reserved for Lewis Fry Richardson, who was the first to conceptualize the use of computers for weather prediction. Remarkably, Richardson developed the theory of Numerical Weather Prediction – predicting weather by applying complex mathematical formulas through a computer – almost 30 years before computers were even invented. He envisioned a system of thousands of human ‘computers’ working together to produce a forecast, remarkably similar to how computers function today.
M honors Mavis Hinds, who played a pivotal role in the early development of computers used by the Met Office for Numerical Weather Prediction. Her work proved the viability of computers for producing accurate, rapid weather forecasts, paving the way for the Met Office to acquire its first computer.
The remaining names on the list are Naoise, Otje, Poppy, Rafi, Sayuri, Tilly, Vivienne, and Wren. The group named 12 storms in the 2023/24 season, reaching the letter ‘L’ with Lilian on August 22. This marks the furthest progress through the list since storm naming was introduced in 2015.
Lang emphasizes the variability of storm seasons, with some seeing a low frequency of named storms and others experiencing more. The high number of storms in the 2023/24 season was attributed to the position of the jet stream, which brought numerous low-pressure systems towards the UK.
The naming of storms significantly contributes to public awareness and preparedness. “For Arwen, which brought exceptional rainfall to parts of eastern Scotland in October 2023, post-event surveys suggest 97 percent of people within the amber and red warning areas were aware of the warnings and 89 percent of them took action as a result,” Lang highlights. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the naming system in promoting public safety and preparedness for severe weather events.
