Shaun the Sheep Storms List
The UK's Met Office releases list of storm names for 2026-27 season, featuring Austen, Boelo, and Chloe, after over 40,000 public suggestions
The UK's Met Office, in partnership with Ireland's Met Éireann and the Dutch national weather forecasting service, KNMI, has released a list of storm names for the 2026-27 season. The list includes names such as Austen, Boelo, and Chloe, as well as Shaun the Sheep, chosen from over 40,000 public suggestions.
The first named storms of this winter will be Austen, Boelo, and Chloe. The name Chloe was selected by the Met Office after being put forward more than 120 times. This suggests that the public's suggestions played a significant role in determining the names that made it to the list.
The Met Office has been naming storms since 2015, in partnership with Ireland's Met Éireann and the Dutch national weather forecasting service, KNMI. The list of storm names runs from early September to the following August. This means that the list is designed to cover the entire storm season, which typically starts in the autumn and lasts until the following summer.
In the last year, four names were used from the list, reaching the letter D with Storm Dave on 1 April. This indicates that the storms are named in a sequential manner, with each storm being assigned the next available name on the list.
Shaun the Sheep was added to the list after a public vote run in collaboration with the British animation studio Aardman. This is a unique example of a storm being named after a popular cultural character. Storms are given a name when they are deemed to have the potential to have a medium or high impact in the UK, Ireland, or the Netherlands.
## Why it matters The purpose of naming storms is to help people take notice, prepare, and stay safe in severe weather. By assigning a name to a storm, the Met Office and its partners aim to raise awareness and encourage people to take necessary precautions. This is especially important for storms that have the potential to cause significant disruption and damage.
The list of storm names is a collaborative effort between the Met Office, Met Éireann, and KNMI. The fact that over 40,000 suggestions were submitted by the public highlights the level of engagement and interest in the naming process. The inclusion of names like Shaun the Sheep also adds a touch of personality to the list, making it more relatable and memorable for the public.
