UK storm names 2025/26: the full list and how naming works

Every September the Met Office, Met Éireann and the Dutch met service KNMI publish a joint list of storm names for the season ahead. Here's the full 2025/26 list, how a storm earns its name, and why certain letters never appear.

Published 13 July 2026 · WeatherZ Guides · Names are assigned by the Met Office, Met Éireann and KNMI

The 2025/26 storm name list

The storm-naming season runs from early September 2025 to 31 August 2026. The names, in the order they'll be used, are:

The list was compiled from more than 50,000 public suggestions across the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands, with names honouring family members, pets and everyday heroes. Storm Amy - the season's first named storm - brought damaging winds to the UK and Ireland in early October 2025.

When does a storm get a name?

A storm is named when it has the potential to cause medium or high impacts - in practice, roughly when an amber or red warning is expected for wind (or occasionally for rain or snow where the impacts justify it). Whichever of the three partner agencies expects significant impacts first assigns the next name on the list, and all three then use it consistently.

Not every spell of bad weather qualifies. Plenty of disruptive-but-ordinary Atlantic lows come and go unnamed each winter - the threshold exists precisely so that a named storm reliably signals "this one is worth your attention".

Why there's never a Storm Quentin, Una, Xander, Yvonne or Zack

The letters Q, U, X, Y and Z are skipped, following the convention of the US National Hurricane Center - too few usable names begin with them. So a 21-name list (A to W) is the maximum a season can use before any overflow arrangements would kick in.

Storms named elsewhere keep their names

When a storm named by another European naming group (for example the south-western Europe group covering France, Spain and Portugal) or the remnants of a US hurricane affect the UK, the original name is kept - that's why the UK is occasionally hit by a storm whose name isn't on the UK list at all, such as an "ex-Hurricane". One name, one storm, across all agencies.

Why naming matters

The evidence from a decade of "Name our Storms" is that a named storm dramatically improves how many people hear about a warning, remember it, and act on it. A name turns a pressure chart into a story you can follow - which is exactly how WeatherZ will treat it. When the platform launches, every named storm affecting the UK will get a single live page tracking warnings, radar, gusts and community reports as the event unfolds, then remain as a permanent record of what actually happened.

Quick answers

Who chooses UK storm names?

The Met Office (UK), Met Éireann (Ireland) and KNMI (Netherlands) jointly, from public suggestions.

When did storm naming start in the UK?

The first "Name our Storms" season ran in 2015/16, opening with Storm Abigail in November 2015.

Are storm names reused or retired?

Each season gets a fresh list. Names associated with particularly damaging or deadly storms aren't brought back, mirroring hurricane-naming practice.