The United Kingdom's Met Office, in collaboration with Met Éireann and KNMI, has released the list of storm names for the 2026-2027 season. The new names, which include Austen, Chloe, and Evelyn, are selected jointly by the three meteorological agencies to reflect communities across the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
More than 40,000 names were submitted by the public in 2025 during an invitation for nominations. Names such as Amy, Isla, and Marty were chosen for the 2025-2026 storm season from these suggestions. This year's list continues to incorporate public input, reflecting popular choices and the personal stories behind them.
For instance, Austen was suggested in honor of Austen Nagle, the first director of the Irish Meteorological Service. Chloe was selected after being nominated over 130 times, including by the mother of a child described as "fascinated by the weather" but also capable of "creat[ing] a storm by herself" when tired. The name Ivy was nominated in tribute to a nine-month-old Labrador puppy known as "the absolute destructor."
The Met Office adheres to consistency with the US National Hurricane Center's naming conventions, which exclude names beginning with the letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z. Any remnant of a tropical storm or hurricane that crosses the Atlantic will retain its original designation, as seen with ex-Hurricane Erin, which brought a significant swell to South West England in August 2025 and was subsequently named Storm Erin.
The UK storm season officially begins on Tuesday, September 1.