Do you like the naming of UK storms?

[MonsteraCheeseplant]

Do you think it makes people panic more?

Wasn't there research that showed it helped people focus (and therefore prepare) more which had reduced accidents ?

Alternatively it's a little bit of fun in the face of an awesome natural phenomenon which might just teach us a little humility as we climb towards heaven ?

And it's probably also a godsend for some parents to be over naming their autumn-born child .

I think its bloody stupid. People are all ooh watch put for storm Ciara! Its not a touch on the storm of ‘87 and we didn’t need to name that one.

I think it's a great idea (if previous post seemed ambiguous). My only criticism is someone, somewhere at the Met Office missed a trick. They should have auctioned off the names to advertisers, so we could have "Storm Ciara, sponsored by " on the forecasts. Surely exactly the sort of innovative entrepreneurship this country needs right now ?

I don't see the point, perhaps just for big events but there seems to be a newly named storm every few weeks and it's rather tedious. It's just weather, stop being so dramatic.

Yes, i love it especially when they explain how it's coming in and why it's form. Fascinating science.

Also makes people a bit more aware of different weather conditions, also understand there's more to weather that being windy, wet, sunny etc Though I don't know many people who panic. Not all named storms are server. Meteorologist do warn about certain storms; not seen panic (bread buying aside) but more people who think its hysteria then find out it wasn't.

I think people were generally less concerned about severe weather when it was called an Atlantic Low or a deep depression. Giving it a label is counterproductive in my opinion; as per the OP, it could lead to panic or, at the least, people needlessly altering their plans and behaviour. Bad weather isn't a stranger to the UK - we just have to be sensible in how we deal with it.

If it prompts just one person to tie down a tarpaulin, or secure some materials, or simply not go out without due care, surely it's worth it ?

Many people died in the '87 hurricane (myself almost included). So I can understand the motivation to save lives - no matter how silly or frivilous it seems to some. It's not as if it's a great expense in the scale of things either. If you want to rail against massive expenses that will achieve fuck all, then HS2 is thataway ---->

Giving it a label is counterproductive in my opinion; as per the OP, it could lead to panic or, at the least, people needlessly altering their plans and behaviour. Bad weather isn't a stranger to the UK - we just have to be sensible in how we deal with it.

Opinion is one thing, proper research is another:

www.reading.ac.uk/news-and-events/releases/PR799650.aspx

“A big part of reducing the impact of extreme weather is helping people to protect themselves when the weather forecast calls for this. Naming storms is an effective way of spreading information rapidly and getting people to sit up and take notice. If Storm Doris had not been named, we could have seen a reduced public response and the death toll may have been greater.”

Or so it used to be ....

I like that it separates out the weather a little.
I am now more aware of there being different storms, rather than one long three month misery of wind and rain.

The bbc says the next one will be called Dennis

I love it as now which approximately 1/3 of storms having Irish names it’s hilarious to hear the attempts by broadcasters to pronounce them.

Can not wait for Storm Caoilfhionn!

Today I learned:

For the 2019-20 storm season, the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) has joined the initiative. Director General Gerard van der Steenhoven said, "As storms are not confined to national borders, it makes a lot of sense to give common names to such extreme weather events."

(from www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/51118756)

So there could be some Dutch names popping up.

(Skips off happy to have a new fact in his head .....)

Stop giving storms names...it only encourages them!!!

It's fantastic news for geography teachers It makes it much easier to learn for case studies, such as when there was a series of storms around 2014 causing major flooding.

I do miss the days when you just had gales though. Everything's a storm these days, and too many yellow weather warnings for regular heavy rain.

I do miss the days when you just had gales though. Everything's a storm these days, and too many yellow weather warnings for regular heavy rain.

You say that, but I was reminiscing (which at my age can take a while ) last night with DW over days of yore, and there has definitely been some differences in weather now, and when I grew up (1970s). Firstly I don't remember having these crystal-clear blue sky spring days in the 70s and 80s where there was a gale force wind. That seemed to start in the 90s.

Also these incredible cloudbursts we seem to get nowdays when a months worth of rain falls in an hour. DF (from Italy) has said the same.

On the plus side, I can recall it being frosty in September, and I haven't seen that since the 80s either.

I am just pleased that this means that people will now be able to pronounce dd's name properly!