Is YOUR name on this year's storm list?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a storm named after you?

Well, you could be in luck, as the Met Office - the UK's national weather service - has released its list of storm names for the new 2026-2027 season.

There are some familiar choices - such as Chloe, Finn and Jade - as well as some more unusual ones, including Boelo and Wennde.

And one name might sound especially familiar to fans of a certain famous TV sheep, Shaun, is on the list too!

But why are storms given names in the first place, and what other names could we expect to see over the next 12 months? Keep reading to find out.

The Met Office has released its list of storm names for the new season, working with the national weather services in Ireland and the Netherlands.

The names will be used from 1 September 2026 until 31 August 2027.

Each of the three weather services put forward seven names, and all three invited the public to suggest their ideas.

This year's names include popular choices, as well as some with special stories behind them.

For example, Austen was suggested in honour of Austen Nagle, the first director of the Irish Meteorological Service.

Chloe was chosen by the Met Office after being suggested more than 130 times - including by the mum of a five-year-old girl called Chloe, who is "fascinated by the weather".

Ivy was nominated in honour of a nine-month-old Labrador puppy.

And Shaun, inspired by Shaun the Sheep, was chosen after winning a public vote against another favourite character, Timmy.

Storms are named by the UK's Met Office, Ireland's Met Éireann or the Netherlands' KNMI when they are forecast to cause "medium" or "high" impacts, that could lead to an amber or red warning.

Mostly this is because of strong winds, but it could also be due to snow or heavy rainfall.

Storms were first given names by the Met Office in 2015.

That's because they believes that if a storm has a name, it makes it easier for people to talk about it, and to follow its progress on the TV, radio or online.

However, not all letters of the alphabet are used.

The letters Q, U, X, Y and Z are left out, in order to follow the naming system used by the US National Hurricane Center.