December 6th 2024.
This upcoming weekend, the United Kingdom is bracing itself for yet another bout of heavy rain. It seems that Storm Darragh is on its way, with the weather forecast predicting days of downpours, strong winds, and potential flooding. This will mark the fourth storm to hit the UK this season, with the recent visits of Storms Bert and Conall leaving behind a trail of destruction and even bringing snow to some areas.
It's no surprise that there are already weather warnings in place, as the Met Office is predicting wind gusts of up to 80mph. The storm is expected to first make landfall in Ireland before crossing over to the UK, bringing with it as much as 60mm of rain in some regions throughout the weekend. This could lead to significant travel disruptions on roads, railways, and ferries.
As we've seen in the past, the Met Office has a list of storm names that they use to identify these powerful weather systems. This list, which was first introduced in 2015, covers the period from September to August and is aligned with the beginning of autumn. The names on this year's list were chosen with inspiration from the Met Office's rich history, with names like James, Lewis, and Mavis paying tribute to important figures and advancements in meteorological science.
For instance, James is named after Group Captain James Stagg, who played a crucial role in advising General Dwight Eisenhower on the weather conditions for the D-Day landings. Lewis is a nod to Lewis Fry Richardson, who came up with a mathematical theory for predicting weather using computers. And Mavis is named after Mavis Hinds, who was involved in the early development of the Met Office's computer systems.
Interestingly, this year has seen a record-breaking number of named storms, with twelve in total, and we've even made it to the letter "L" with Storm Lilian. However, unless we have a particularly tumultuous year, we probably won't get to see a Storm Wren. In case you're curious, here's the full list of storm names for 2024: Ashley, Bert, Conall, Darragh, Eowyn, Floris, Gerben, Hugo, Izzy, James, Kayleigh, Lewis, Mavis, Naoise, Otje, Poppy, Rafi, Sayuri, Tilly, Vivienne, and Wren.
The UK Met Office collaborates with the Irish Met Eireann and the Dutch weather service KNMI to select the names for these storms. In fact, Bert, the first storm of the season, was named by KNMI after they asked the public for suggestions at an event. This year's list was announced in August, and Will Lang, who leads the Met Office's severe weather responses, expressed his excitement at being able to honor the individuals who have contributed to the organization's 170-year history.
Now, as we look ahead to the arrival of Storm Darragh, it's worth noting that this particular storm was named by the Dutch weather service, with the Met Office issuing an advisory about the expected weather conditions this weekend. According to their statement, "A deep low may cross England and Wales from Friday afternoon. Around 15-25mm of rain may fall quite widely, with some areas in the north and west possibly experiencing up to 50-70mm." Let's hope that the impact of this storm is not as severe as we've seen in the past. This article was originally published on August 29, 2024.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
