The public have chosen the next storm names - get ready for Amy, Bram and Chandra

The first of September marks the beginning of autumn in the meteorological world as well as the start of the annual storm season.

It also heralds a new list of storm names as chosen by members of the public.

This year look out for Amy, Bram and Chandra which are due to be the first few named storms of the season.

They are named by the UK Met Office, Irelands Met Éireann or the Netherlands KNMI when they are forecast to cause "medium" or "high" impacts.

This year more than 50,000 suggestions for storm names were submitted to the Met Office from across the UK, Netherlands and Ireland.

The final selection includes some of the most popular choices as well as names which have a story behind them.

For example, named storm number four will be Dave, described by the nominator as named for "my beloved husband who can snore three times louder than any storm".

Stevie was inspired by a little girl named after the Stevie Nicks song, Dreams - which includes the line: "Thunder only happens when its raining."

The names are selected to reflect the diversity of each region and assessed for pronunciation, differing meanings across countries, links to public figures, and potential controversy.

The Met Office started naming storms in 2015. In the UK, storms are named when they are likely to cause disruption or damage that could lead to an amber or red warning.

This decision is based on both the potential impact of the weather and how likely it is to happen.

Storms are typically named based on the impacts of strong winds. Although other weather-related effects are also taken into account, like heavy rainfall or snow which may lead to flooding or travel disruption.

As a result, storms can be named not only for wind impacts but also for significant effects from rain or snow.

Using one official system to name storms helps to share clear and consistent information about severe weather, making it easier for the public to stay safe.

Rebekah Hicks, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, believes that it is a system that works: "We know that for Storm Floris, just a few weeks ago, surveys found that 93% of people in the amber warning area were aware of the alerts, with 83% taking action to prepare."

In Europe, the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands form the western storm-naming group.

Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg make up the south-western group, while Norway, Sweden, and Denmark comprise the northern group.

Map of Europe showing European storm naming groups

To avoid confusion, the remnants of a tropical storm or hurricane that crosses the Atlantic will keep its original name, for example ex-Hurricane Erin, which brought a large swell to South West England in August 2025.

If such a system goes on to meet the UKs criteria for storm naming, the name will remain the same but will be used in the form Storm Erin.

To ensure consistency with the US National Hurricane Centre naming conventions, names that begin with the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z are not used.

In the UK there were six named storms. The most recent - Storm Floris - hit in early August, notable for its wind strength during the summer months.

Gusts of 82mph were recorded in northern Scotland.

Before that it was Storm Eowyn in January, the most powerful windstorm in the UK for over a decade with gusts of over 135mph.

It particularly affected Northern Ireland and Scotlands Central Belt.

Overall it was a much quieter season than the previous one (2023/24) when we saw 12 named storms - the most in a season since the naming of storms started in 2015.

Detecting long-term trends is challenging, as windstorm activity naturally fluctuates from year-to-year and across decades.

Currently, there is no clear evidence of an increase or decrease in the number or intensity of windstorms.

Scientists are more confident that the coastal impacts of windstorms, from storm surges and high waves will worsen as sea-levels rise.

Climate change is making our weather more extreme and a warmer world means that when it does rain, those rains tend to be heavier with more flooding risks.

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