The weather in Wales so far this winter has been cold but fairly dry, although thunderstorms did cause huge problems in early November, but we already know the names of the storms we'll be getting if conditions take a turn - and Betty, Daisy, Glen, Mark and Owain are among the monikers set to wreak havoc.
The new storms list – first launched in 2015 – for each year generally runs from early September until late August the following year, coinciding with the beginning of autumn. Members of the public can suggest names by emailing nameourstorms@metoffice.gov.uk.
In 2022, though, there haven't been any named storms from the list since February, according to the Met Office. November's heavy rain, strong winds and flooding were part of Storm Claudio, but this was named by Meteo France and the name didn't come from the Met Office list. Heavy rain and strong winds have been forecast by the Met Office for today and Wednesday, however, and a warning has been issued.
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That means 2023's first storm - unless one comes in right at the last minute in 2022 - will be Storm Antoni, and the 2022-23 list will be used until August. Other names, including Daisy, Glen, Khalid and Owain, came through e-mail submissions, while Betty won a public vote on Twitter, with more than 12,000 votes cast.
Storms are named when they have the potential to cause an amber or red warning. The list of possible names are compiled by Irish forecaster Met Eireann, the UK’s Met Office and the Dutch national weather forecasting service KNMI. KNMI selected Antoni, Hendrika, Johanna and Loes, in honour of famous Dutch scientists, while Met Eireann chose Cillian, Fleur, Ide, and Nelly.
Met Office head of situational awareness, Will Lang, who leads responses in times of severe weather, said naming storms helped warn the public. “We know from seven years of doing this that naming storms works,” he said when the storms list was announced in September. "Last year, Storms Arwen and Eunice brought some severe impacts to the UK. We know that naming storms helps to raise awareness and gives the public the information they need to stay safe in times of severe weather.”
In a press statement, the Met Office said 98% of those living or working within the red warning area in the southeast for Storm Eunice were aware of the warning, and 91% of those took action to protect themselves, their property or business.
So, 2023's names on the storms list are: Antoni, Betty, Cillian, Daisy, Elliot, Fleur, Glen, Hendrika, Ide, Johanna, Khalid, Loes, Mark, Nelly, Owain, Priya, Ruadhan, Sam, Tobias, Val, Wouter.
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