New storm names for 2026-2027 released by Met Office
The Met Office, alongside Ireland's Met Éireann and the Netherlands' KNMI, has released its list of storm names for the 2026-2027 season, marking the start of the UK's storm season as meteorological autumn begins. Storms are named when they are forecast to cause medium or high impacts, typically from strong winds but also heavy rain or snow, with the aim of giving the public clear, consistent warnings that help them stay safe ahead of disruptive weather.
The first names on this year's alphabetical list are Austen, Boelo and Chloe, followed by Dano and Evelyn, chosen from more than 40,000 public nominations submitted in 2025. This marks the eleventh year of the naming scheme, and several names carry personal stories, including Austen, honouring the first director of the Irish Meteorological Service, and Chloe, nominated over 130 times. As before, names beginning with Q, U, X, Y and Z are excluded to align with US National Hurricane Centre conventions, and ex-tropical storms crossing the Atlantic, such as Storm Erin in 2025, keep their original names.
- Met Office reveals 2026-2027 storm names, starting with Austen, Boelo, Chloe
- Names chosen from over 40,000 public nominations, some with personal stories
- Storms named to give clear warning of medium-to-high impact weather
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Storm names are given to weather systems expected to bring significant disruption, usually from high winds, but sometimes heavy rain or snow. The idea is to make warnings easier for the public to follow, since a named storm tends to stand out more clearly in forecasts and news coverage than a generic weather alert. The UK's storm season is treated as running alongside meteorological autumn and winter, which is when these systems are most common.
The naming list is drawn up jointly by the UK's Met Office, Ireland's Met Éireann and the Netherlands' national weather service, KNMI, reflecting the fact that these storms typically affect all three countries as they move in from the Atlantic. Names are worked through alphabetically over the season, and members of the public are invited to suggest names in advance, which is why some carry personal or historical significance. A handful of letters are left out to keep the list consistent with the naming system used for hurricanes in the United States.
The scheme has been running for over a decade and has become a familiar part of how UK weather warnings are communicated each year. It does not change how severe a storm is or how it is measured; it simply gives forecasters and broadcasters a consistent way to refer to the same event across different countries and media outlets.