Is your grandma a force of nature? Does your best friend cause an impact wherever they go? Now you can give them the recognition they deserve…
By naming a storm after them, of course.
We know all the talk is about heatwaves at the moment, especially after weather forecasters have recently predicted that the UK is in for a ‘hotter than average’ summer this year, but let’s turn our eye to the upcoming storm season for a second, shall we?
That’s right – the Met Office is inviting the public to submit their suggestions for storm names for the upcoming 2025/26 season.
Now in its eleventh year, the Met Office works with Met Éireann in Ireland and KNMI in the Netherlands to compile the list every time the season rolls around, and this headline-grabbing naming initiative helps the media and the public communicate about the impacts of severe weather events more easily and effectively.
Submit your nominations through our online form by 3 July 2025 👉 https://t.co/XL04ZAKr7R#StormNames
— Met Office (@metoffice) June 19, 2025
As part of the naming process, each of the three meteorological organisations will get to name storms using selected letters, with the aim being to reflect the diversity of the three countries, and in-keeping with usual storm naming conventions, names will be picked for every letter of the alphabet except for Q, U, X, Y and Z.
According to the Met Office, a number of factors are considered for a name to be on the list – including how difficult it might be to pronounce, if the name has different meanings in different countries, and if it could be considered controversial in some way.
Once the list of names is decided upon, it will be formally announced by the Met Office in September when storm season begins.
“The storm naming system has helped us communicate weather to help people stay safe,” commented Will Lang, who is the Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, “and wow we need the UK public to help us compile a new list.
“Whether you want to honour a weather-lover in your family, remember a family pet, or get a friend’s name in the headlines, we welcome submissions from the public to help us pull together next year’s list of storm names.”
People can only submit their names online via the submissions page here, where there’s also the option of adding a reason for the suggestion, and must not be submitted via social media as they will not be counted.
You have until 3 July 2025 to make your submissions, and the new list will be revealed in early September.
Featured Image – Johannes Plenio (via Unsplash)
