Published: 06:00 BST, 1 September 2026 | Updated: 08:05 BST, 1 September 2026
The Met Office has unveiled the official list of storm names for the 2026-27 season – including tributes to loved ones, favourite pets and even an animated sheep.
Austen, Boelo and Chloe will be the first named storms of this winter, meteorologists revealed, after more than 40,000 suggestions were submitted by the public.
Weather watchers also submitted names in honour of a five-year-old weather enthusiast, a much-loved Labrador puppy, meteorological pioneers and Shaun the Sheep from the popular animation Wallace and Gromit.
Despite their amusing origins, the Met Office said the purpose of naming storms is also serious as it helps people take notice, prepare and stay safe in severe weather.
It, along with Ireland’s Met Eireann and the Dutch national weather forecasting service KNMI, has been naming storms since 2015, with the list running from early September to the following August.
It coincides with the start of autumn when the likelihood of low-pressure systems and the potential for storms severe enough to be named increases.
Holly Clements, Met Office head of warnings and guidance, said: ‘For more than a decade, storm naming has helped us communicate the risks from severe weather more effectively.
‘A named storm provides a clear focus for forecasts and warnings, helping more people understand the potential impacts and take action to protect themselves, their families and their property.’
The Met Office has unveiled the official list of storm names for the 2026-27 season – including tributes to loved ones, favourite pets and even an animated sheep. Pictured: Waves batter Porthcawl, Cornwall during Storm Amy last year
In the last year, four names were used from the list: Storm Amy, Storm Bram, Storm Chandra (pictured), and Storm Dave
In the last year, four names were used from the list, reaching the letter D with Storm Dave at the start of April.
However, the UK also saw impacts from a further three storms named by other European meteorological services – Storms Benjamin, Claudia and Goretti.
Under naming conventions used for storms in the North Atlantic, the list runs alphabetically, missing out Q, U, X, Y and Z.
The third name in this year’s list, Chloe, was selected by the Met Office after being put forward more than 120 times, including by the mother of a five-year-old weather enthusiast who is ‘fascinated by the weather’ but can also ‘create a storm by herself’ when she is tired.
