People in Ireland the UK could well be taking a pounding from Nigel or Barney over the next few months, as Met Éireann and the Met Office have announced the crowdsourced names for the wind storms we’ll face in the autumn and winter of 2015/2016.
The two national meteorology offices worked together on a pilot scheme asking members of the public to select the names of potential wind storms. After receiving thousands of responses by email and through Facebook and Twitter, the two bodies whittled down the selection to the following names that will be used by Met Éireann and the Met Office when forecasting storms:
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Met Éireann's Gerald Fleming explained how the two weather services came about selecting the names, and why certain ones could not be included:
The names chosen for storms on this side of the Atlantic could not begin with the letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z, so as to keep in line with the US National Hurricane Center naming convention. When a storm affecting the British Isles is a remnant of a tropical storm or hurricane that has swept across the Atlantic, the name already chosen by meteorologists in Miami will still count.
The two national met offices operate on the islands to maintain public safety by keeping the public informed of severe weather patterns and forecasts. The bodies encourage public participation in naming storms in order to raise awareness of severe weather and ensure greater public safety.
