Met Office receives request to name weather system 'Storm Prince Andrew'

Svar Nanan-Sen
Fri, 06 Mar 2026 10:05:27 +0000

A freedom of information request has inventive storm names put forward by members of the public to the Met Office, with more than 27,000 suggestions revealing Britain's fondness for wordplay.

Among the standout submissions were Stormy McStormFace, Dame Judi Drench, and Storm Prince Andrew, according to data obtained by the Press Association from the national forecaster.

The public naming scheme, launched in 2015 as a joint initiative between the Met Office and its Irish and Dutch counterparts, Met Éireann and KNMI, attracted over 50,000 entries for the current 2025/2026 season alone.

Celebrity-inspired puns proved particularly popular, with suggestions including Austin Power-cutter, Bruce Spring Storm, David Blowy, Keir Stormer and Elon Gust among the wittiest entries.

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The "McFace" naming convention, made famous by the Boaty McBoatface saga, inspired multiple variations including Blowy McBlowFace, Cloudy McCloudFace and Rainy McRainFace.

Another proposal was naming a weather system after the rapper Stormzy.

Environmental activism also found its way into the submissions, with over 600 names targeting fossil fuel companies.

Creative entries included Oily McOilFace, Emissions Impossible, BPocalypse, Shell-shocked and Exxonstentialthreat.

One particularly ambitious suggestion was Storm Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, borrowing from the Welsh village that holds the record for Britain's longest place name.

Other inventive offerings ranged from the hopeful "About Time We Need Some Rain" to pop culture references such as Buzz Lightning, Darth Vapour, Arnold Stormneggar, Harristorm Ford and Fifty Shades of Rain.

Despite the entertainment value of these submissions, the Met Office made clear that names would never make the official list.

A spokesperson for the forecaster told the Press Association: "Some of the names are really clever and funny and we enjoy seeing them suggested.

“However, we couldn't ever use comedy names for our storms, because at the heart of it, naming storms has an important safety purpose."

The forecaster explained that storm naming helps raise public awareness and keeps people safe.

From the tens of thousands of entries, just 21 names were selected for the current season, including Amy, Dave, Oscar and Violet.