Amy, Bram and Dave among the storm name list for 2025/2026

The new list is out with the possibility of Storm Eddie, Storm Isla and Storm Patrick. The UK Met Office, Ireland’s Met Éireann and KNMI in the Netherlands have revealed the storm names for their group in the upcoming 2025-26 season. Significant and impactful low pressures in northwestern Europe are named as an additional communication tool. Naming storm events has been shown to highlight upcoming severe weather and the potential impacts. 

This year, all the names have been chosen from a long list submitted by the public. More than 50,000 suggestions were put forward, with people often listing more than one. These were often accompanied by stories explaining why they were nominating each particular name. 

The new list for the 2025/26 season

Amy, Bram and Chandra will be the first three named storms by the group this season.  The first name on the list - Amy - was the most popular female name submitted to the Met Office.  

Other names submitted to the Met Office include 'Dave' someone’s snoring husband, 'Isla' the most popular ‘I’ name, 'Stevie' was inspired by a little girl named after the singer Stevie Nicks and Oscar, a cat. 

From Met Éireann, there were many personal stories of friends, family, loved ones, and pets, often mentioning their children and grandchildren. Also, suggestions from Irish history, culture, and literature, such as Bram Stoker, the renowned Irish writer.

"We know that naming storms makes it easier for people to track important and up-to-date forecasts and safety-related information."

Visitors to the KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) open house event in October 2024 were asked to contribute to the Dutch input; Chandra, Eddie, Hannah, Janna, Lilith, Nico, and Wubbo

Chandra is the name of the Hindu god of the moon. One of the visitors suggested Nico from the grandson of a former KNMI employee who worked on the weather ship Cumulus between the 1950s and 1970s.

And Wubbo, a tribute to Wubbo J. Ockels, a physicist and the first Dutch citizen to fly into space.

In June 2025, the Met Office asked people to submit their name suggestions online, with an option to add a reason. These have been mixed with the names from Ireland and the Netherlands 

“Now we need the UK public to help us compile this year’s 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.” MO

The naming of storms has taken place for several years now, but the names later in the alphabet rarely get used. Last season, we only got to ‘F’ with Storm Floris.  Names are selected for each letter of the alphabet, except for Q, U, X, Y and Z, in keeping with cyclone naming conventions. This is the tenth year of naming our storms for events that are often accompanied by Amber or Red severe weather warnings. 

 Why do we name storms?

 “It’s about making sure people take notice. When a storm has a name, it becomes easier for the media and public to talk about it, share information, and prepare. It’s a simple step that can make a big difference in helping communities stay safe, protect their homes, and make informed decisions ahead of severe weather.” MO

The season runs from early September to late August the following year, to coincide with the increase in Atlantic low pressures over autumn/winter.

Last season's western group names, with up to 'F' used.

We are in the Western Group; there are other groups around Europe, including a Southwestern European Group. High-impact storms in this region are named by the National Meteorological Services of Portugal (IPMA), France (Météo-France), Belgium (RMI), Luxembourg (MeteoLux), and Spain (AEMET). A wider area, but this year, with high pressure often over the UK blocking incoming lows, there were many storms named between September and April, from Aitor to Olivier. There will be a new list for this Group as well. 

Last season's southwestern group names, with up to '0' used.

Storm name list in full for 2025/26 Western Group, with pronunciations and National Met. Service

Amy (Met Office)

Bram (Met Éireann)

Chandra (Ch-an-dra) (KNMI)

Dave (Met Office)

Eddie (KNMI)

Fionnuala (Fee-new-lah) (Met Éireann)

Gerard (Jer-ard) (Met Éireann)

Hannah (KNMI)

Isla (Met Office)

Janna (Yah-nah) (KNMI)

Kasia (Ka-shaa) (Met Éireann)

Lilith (KNMI)

Marty (Met Éireann)

Nico (KNMI)

Oscar (Met Office)

Patrick (Met Éireann)

Ruby (Met Office)

Stevie (Met Office)

Tadhg (Tie-g) (Met Éireann)

Violet (Met Office)

Wubbo (Vuh-boh) (KNMI)  

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