Hugo Duncan delighted to have storm named after him

The new storm list kicks off with Ashley, Bert, and Conall.

Storms are named when they have the potential to cause ‘medium’ or ‘high’ impacts due to factors such as high winds, heavy rain, or snow.

Names for the upcoming season were also selected by KNMI from an environment fair, and by Met Éireann from children participating in a STEM event.

Although Met Éireann received more than 500 suggestions, it also asked members of the public to chose between Hugo and Harvey for storm ‘H.

Ultimately, Hugo won the battle and is included in the list of names for the year ahead.

Speaking to BBC News in July, Hugo said “It would be great to have a storm named after me because people say I start a storm everywhere.”

According to Eoin Sherlock, Head of Forecasting at Met Éireann, naming storms helps raise awareness.

“Our key priority is to help protect life and property from extreme weather and ensure the safety of our communities,” he said.

“Naming each storm increases the level of public safety and preparedness as people are more likely to remember and respond to warnings when storms are named.”

KNMI’s Senior Forecaster Jos Diepeveen added: “Through recognisable names, we hope to reach as many people as possible with our warning before the weather strikes.”

The letters Q, U, X, Y and Z are not used, which is consistent with international storm-naming conventions.

Storms named by other countries keep their name if they reach British, Irish or Dutch shores.