Resisting storm names

Does anyone else find the storm names a bit pretentious?

In the US where thy get massive hurricanes coming in, they need names to track multiple systems, so naming them assists with this. Do we really need that in the UK?

I’ve been avoiding using the names of these storms as I find it a bit silly/cringeworthy. Am I alone in this?

It’s all gone downhill since Hurricane Bawbag.

I’m waiting for Higgins.

I think it’s a fairly good way of raising awareness of bad weather. Folk are more likely to pay attention to named storms than ‘yellow weather warning’

I expect the idea will get tired pretty quickly, it sort of has its uses though. While we don’t have hurricanes of the severity of the US we do get events as disruptive as we’re seeing in Cumbria and the borders frequently enough and they are pretty devastating to the people involved. We get plenty of events like that but looking backwards its difficult to remember which ones are which and whether an event that effected one locality in a given year was part of the weather same event that effected another.

We can only really catalogue stuff, looking backwards if the weather lands on an auspicious date, so the storm that effected the UK on Boxing Day 1998 is known as ‘The Boxing Day Storm’ (memorable enough in my neck of the woods for the anxious half hour when Hunterston B was left without any cooling a la Fukashima) but similar storms since, just as severe (that happen on average every 4 years in the UK) don’t have names so we don’t really have any means to identify, compare and refer back to those other occasions.

I think we’ll tire of announcing the name of every weather system, but the names of the ones that cause real issues are handy.

It does feel a bit like they’re naming every gust of wind at the moment. Naming hurricanes and cyclones is easy, they’re big and fairly singular events with exceptional wind speeds. We’re up to Desmond already in what feels like one long period of windy and rainy weather, and Desmond rainfall excepted, none of it has been that exceptional really. That’s not to demean the impact on those that have been affected but at this rate we could be through the alphabet by the spring.

Yes very cringey. British sounding names make terrible storm names too. We should be using Greek gods or something more threatening

Gail Force
Arbut Bleauwy
Hayley Sturme

It’s about time we named something ‘Keith’. Today’s a bit gusty to be homest. Ideal opportunity methinks…

I was thinking we should name the floods – a thought I had before the recent disruption in Cumbria, was mainly thinking about the Severn and Wye floodplains here, where we reliably have several flood events a year.

A seal?

Naming hurricanes and cyclones is easy, they’re big and fairly singular events with exceptional wind speeds. We’re up to Desmond already in what feels like one long period of windy and rainy weather, and Desmond rainfall excepted, none of it has been that exceptional really.

Not every hurricane is Hurricane Katrina. They’re not named because they’re exceptional, we’d only bother to mention the the names of the ones that are. Its only because the naming system is new that we’re mentioning the name of every storm, but because the weather related to them was unremarkable we’ve already forgotten those names (with the exception of the pun-tastic Abigail)

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/is-the-met-office-getting-a-bit-yknow-americanised

maccruiskeen – Member
Naming hurricanes and cyclones is easy, they’re big and fairly singular events with exceptional wind speeds. We’re up to Desmond already in what feels like one long period of windy and rainy weather, and Desmond rainfall excepted, none of it has been that exceptional really.
Not every hurricane is Hurricane Katrina. They’re not named because they’re exceptional, we’d only bother to mention the the names of the ones that are. Its only because the naming system is new that we’re mentioning the name of every storm, but because the weather related to them was unremarkable we’ve already forgotten those names (with the exception of the pun-tastic Abigail)

But a hurricane is a ‘thing’ they tend to roll through as an individual event, and a fairly obvious one at that. Whereas we’ve just had a sustained period of bad weather, it’s been windy and rainy more than not over the last few weeks and are already four names in.

Yes the Storm at the weekend was just a bit windy nothing exceptional other than the flooding being at record levels, several counties declaring a major indent, 3 confirmed deaths and 10,000s homes flooded.

What’s the next one going to be? My money’s on Eric or Ernie.

Eck

The next one will be a female name, they alternate. (sorry for being all transgenderist ?)

May help someone making an insurance claim for storm damage if they can link it to a specific storm name. Used to be a nightmare trying to work out if damage was due to a storm or just a bit of wind exposing lack of maintenance.

What’s the next one going to be? My money’s on Eric or Ernie.

Edric.

Edric Storm.

May help someone making an insurance claim for storm damage if they can link it to a specific storm name. Used to be a nightmare trying to work out if damage was due to a storm or just a bit of wind exposing lack of maintenance.

You could get a freak gust in relatively normal conditions anyway, and lack of maintenance will be more likely to get exposed the windier/wetter it gets. Met office would have local records anyway.

My understanding of the US system is it’s useful for tracking systems that may or may not make landfall, and may or may not be hurricane force when they do. Many weather events, named or otherwise, could be linked to deaths or disruption, that doesn’t mean they need a name. Weather warnings are issued for various events that may or may not have a name, and that’s fine. Particularly the yellow snow warnings.

The next one will be a female name, they alternate. (sorry for being all transgenderist ?)

Ethel then. Or Edith.

Many weather events, named or otherwise, could be linked to deaths or disruption, that doesn’t mean they need a name.

Of course they don’t but to claim the weather at weekend was just a bit wet and windy is silly.

Drac – Moderator
Yes the Storm at the weekend was just a bit windy nothing exceptional other than the flooding being at record levels, several counties declaring a major indent, 3 confirmed deaths and 10,000s homes flooded.

And what of the three previous named ones? I’ve already said that the rain was exceptional, what I don’t see is that it’s anything but a single period of bad weather culminating in a period of heavy rainfall as opposed to four discrete events.

Naming every period of bad weather just seems daft. It seems to be based on low pressures which is related to wind speed and nothing we’ve had is ‘that strong’. It’s not related to rainfall or the amount of flooding or deaths caused, otherwise we might be having to name every convectional thunder storm in the wrong place.

Trying to make our fairly unexceptional weather seem in some way more important just seems to trivialise it and other major weather events. Add that to frankly appalling standards of reporting and discussion on return periods and you end up with a skewed public view on things as evidenced by the complete lack of understanding of 1 in hundred year events.

Naming every period of bad weather just seems daft. It seems to be based on low pressures which is related to wind speed and nothing we’ve had is ‘that strong’. It’s not related to rainfall or the amount of flooding or deaths caused, otherwise we might be having to name every convectional thunder storm in the wrong place.

It has been since Autumn so over months not just a few weeks and we’ve had a break in between the storms where it’s rained or been a bit windy. Not a storm which is what they’ve named, it’s not complicated to work out. There’s no harm in naming the storms I can’t see why people get all heated up about it.

Trying to make our fairly unexceptional weather seem in some way more important just seems to trivialise it and other major weather events. Add that to frankly appalling standards of reporting and discussion on return periods and you end up with a skewed public view on things as evidenced by the complete lack of understanding of 1 in hundred year events.

Do you?

bearnecessities – Member
I’m waiting for Higgins

I’m disappointed we’re not going to be getting Storm(in) Norman.

I’m not worked up about it, I just cringe every time someone uses a storm name for the UK.

Desmond made me think of the whole ISIS/ISIL/Daesh thing- “It’ll make the storm much less scary if we give it a silly name it doesn’t like.”

It’s less than a month since the naming started and we’ve had 4. A named hurricane has people sheltering and hiding, half of my friends were out boating, the only reason I wasn’t biking was I was hungover.

A named hurricane has people sheltering and hiding, half of my friends were out boating, the only reason I wasn’t biking was I was hungover.

Where as other places there were power lines brought down, homes flooded, buildings damaged. Sounds like you’re playing it down because you and your friends are awesome.

A storm will be named when it is deemed to have the potential to cause ‘medium’ or ‘high’ wind impacts on the UK and/or Ireland, i.e. if a yellow, amber or red warning for wind has been issued by Met Éireann and/or the National Severe Weather Warnings (NSWWS).

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/mobile/news/article/news/releases/archive/2015/name-our-storms

Where as other places there were power lines brought down, homes flooded, buildings damaged. Sounds like you’re playing it down because you and your friends are awesome.

No I’m playing it down because it feels to me like we’re trying to make our weather seem all scary by labelling things that don’t need it. If named storms are landing weekly and the purpose is to use naming is to highlight risk then I’d suggest the cut off for naming seems to be set too low and doesn’t work. And if it’s not for that then it comes across as frivolous and pointless.

That link also gives explains the rationale behind naming storms.

So we stop naming them because we’e had a few too many recently.

Thing is, in the UK, we get battered by storms all through Autumn.

They’re gonna need more name conventions and maybe grading at a different level.

The day they pronounce “Samantha’s just deluged Wales” will bring the end to it I reckon.

“It’ll make the storm much less scary if we give it a silly name it doesn’t like.”

Gertrude

OP yes I have to say this is all very American and self serving publicity nonsense.