Met Office, Met Éireann and KNMI reveal 21 storm names for 2026/27 season

The 2026/27 storm roster

The UK Met Office, Ireland's Met Éireann, and the Dutch national weather forecasting service KNMI published the 2026/27 storm names list on 1 September 2026. The 21-name roster runs until 31 August 2027, covering the autumn and winter periods when low-pressure systems across the North Atlantic frequently generate severe conditions. Under international conventions shared with the US National Hurricane Centre, the list runs alphabetically but excludes the letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z. The complete roster comprises Austen, Boelo, Chloe, Dano, Evelyn, Finn, Gwendolyn, Heather, Ivy, Jade, Kilian, Laoise, Miriam, Nicola, Olaf, Phelim, Ruban, Shaun, Theo, Vesna, and Wende. Any remnants of tropical storms crossing the Atlantic keep their original names, following the protocol seen when ex-Hurricane Erin reached southwest England in August 2025.

Public nominations and culture

Each of the three partner agencies contributed seven names to the roster, drawing from more than 40,000 public submissions collected during a 2025 campaign. The Met Office selected Chloe after the name received more than 120 submissions, including one from the mother of a five-year-old weather enthusiast. Other public nominations reflect personal stories, including Finn, submitted for an energetic two-year-old boy, and Ivy, named after a nine-month-old Labrador puppy described as a destructor. Nicola was put forward in honour of a mother who overcame adversity, while Theo was inspired by a cat that hid before thunderstorms. The name Shaun joined the roster through a public vote organised in collaboration with British animation studio Aardman, the creators of Wallace and Gromit, aiming to combine storytelling with weather preparedness.

Met Éireann's 90th anniversary selections

To mark its 90th anniversary, Met Éireann selected four figures from Irish weather history alongside three drawn from last year's public longlist (Heather, Laoise, and Phelim). Storm Austen honours Austen Nagle, the first director of the Irish Meteorological Service. Storm Kilian recognises P Kilian Rohan, who directed the service from 1978 to 1981, wrote the 1976 reference work The Climate of Ireland, and managed the service's relocation to Glasnevin in 1979. Storm Miriam honours Miriam Lyons, the first woman to work as an operational meteorological officer at Met Éireann and the first Irish woman to fly in a jet fighter at Casement Aerodrome.

Operational warnings and legacy honours

Met Éireann also selected Evelyn to honour two prominent figures in Irish meteorology. Evelyn Murphy was the service's first female meteorologist, the first woman to present weather on RTÉ television in 1983, and the developer of the Irish Marine Data Buoy Observation Network. The name simultaneously honours Evelyn Cusack, the first female head of forecasting at Met Éireann and a long-serving presenter who retired in 2023 after 42 years. Cusack previously chaired the European Met Services' Storm Naming Working Group.

All I can hope is that if it happens, Evelyn is not a really bad storm. But then again, I'm retired, so it's not my problem.

A storm is officially named when a low-pressure system is forecast to cause medium or high impacts from wind, rain, or snow in the UK, Ireland, or the Netherlands. The agency expecting the earliest or most severe impact assigns the name. Met Éireann head of forecasting Eoin Sherlock noted that the system assists the public in tracking official safety guidance during dangerous weather.