Met Éireann Unveils Storm Names List For 2026/27 Season

Met Éireann has launched its list of storm names for the 2026/27 season, in partnership with the UK Met Office and the Netherlands' KNMI. The season began on 1 September 2026 and runs until 31 August 2027.

The list contains 21 names in total, with each of the three national meteorological services contributing seven. Met Éireann's selection includes four names honouring historically significant figures from the service, Austen, Evelyn, Kilian and Miriam, alongside three names drawn from a public nomination campaign run last year, Heather, Laoise and Phelim.

The full list for 2026/27 is: Austen, Boelo, Chloe, Dano, Evelyn, Finn, Gwendolyn, Heather, Ivy, Jade, Kilian, Laoise, Miriam, Nicola, Olaf, Phelim, Ruban, Shaun, Theo, Vesna and Wende. As in previous years, the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z are not used, in line with the US National Hurricane Center naming convention.

Eoin Sherlock, Head of Forecasting Division at Met Éireann:

"Naming storms helps Met Éireann in our mission to protect life and property through the provision of world-class weather, climate, and flood services. Using consistent names and communications allows us and other public safety organisations to increase awareness of severe and impactful weather alongside our weather warnings.

We know that naming storms makes it easier for people to track important and up to date forecast and safety-related information as we can see from the levels of traffic and activity through our website and across social media platforms during storm events. 2026 marks the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Irish Meteorological Service and we are proud to be able to recognise some of the significant contributors to our history in the list of storm names this year, such as the first director of the Service in 1936, Austen Nagle, and the first woman to hold an operational role as a meteorological officer, Miriam Lyons.

As we approach the start of the new storm season, we take the opportunity to encourage to [sic] the public to engage with relevant forecasts and safety information during storms and all other extreme weather events."

A storm is named when it could bring medium or high impacts to one of the three partner countries. The national weather service expecting the greatest or earliest impact from a system names it, and orange or red warnings for wind, rain or snow may also be issued alongside the naming. Storm naming between Met Éireann and the UK Met Office began in 2015, with KNMI joining the partnership in 2019. Where a storm is named by another national meteorological service, including ex-hurricanes named by the US National Hurricane Center, all partners retain that name, as happened with Charley in 1986 and Ophelia in 2017.

Holly Clements, Head of Warnings and Guidance at the UK Met Office:

"For more than a decade, storm naming has helped us communicate the risks from severe weather more effectively. A named storm provides a clear focus for forecasts and warnings, helping more people understand the potential impacts and take action to protect themselves, their families and their property."

The 2025/26 season, which has just ended, saw five named storms affect Ireland: Amy in October 2025, Claudia in November (named by Spain's AEMET), Bram in December, Chandra in January and Dave in April. Storm Amy brought the season's most severe winds, with gusts of 148 km/h at Malin Head, while Storm Claudia produced the highest rainfall, at 66.9 mm in Johnstown Castle, and the season's highest wave, at 21.1 m at Buoy M5 off the Wexford coast. Storm Chandra was the deepest system of the season, with pressure falling to 958.4 hPa.

Since the storm naming initiative began in 2015/16, 87 storms have affected Ireland across 11 seasons. The 2023/24 season had the highest number of named storms, at fourteen, while 2022/23 had the fewest, at four. The most powerful gusts on record remain those from Storm Éowyn on 24 January 2025, which reached 184 km/h, breaking the previous record of 182 km/h set at Foynes, Co. Limerick, in 1945.

Warnings for wind, rain, temperature and other hazards are available up to three days ahead via the Met Éireann app and at www.met.ie/warnings/today, with push notification and email subscription options available for chosen counties.