Met Éireann announce list of storm names for 2026/27
New names include several associated with history of Met Éireann, as part of celebrations of 90th anniversary
Met Éireann, in partnership with the National Meteorological Services of the UK (Met Office) and the Netherlands (KNMI), have launched the new list of names for the 2026/27 storm ‘season’, which starts today and runs until 31 August 2027.
Of the list of 21 names, each of the national partners has contributed seven. Met Éireann’s selection features four historically significant names in Austen, Evelyn, Kilian and Miriam, and three derived from a longlist of nominations proposed through a public campaign run last year – Heather, Laoise and Phelim.
The full 2026/27 list is Austen, Boelo, Chloe, Dano, Evelyn, Finn, Gwendolyn, Heather, Ivy, Jade, Kilian, Laoise, Miriam, Nicola, Olaf, Phelim, Ruban, Shaun, Theo, Vesna, Wende.
(The names chosen by Met Éireann are in bold. Letters Q, U, X, Y, Z are not included, which is in line with the US National Hurricane Center naming convention).
Eoin Sherlock, head of Forecasting Division in Met Éireann, said: “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.
“This year (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 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 result in ‘medium’ or ‘high’ impacts in one of the three partner countries.
Naming storms allows for authoritative and consistent communications with the public to enable them to prepare for, and stay safe, during potentially severe weather events.
When a storm is forecast, the national weather service that expects the biggest impact from the severe weather or is likely to be affected first, names the storm.
As well as naming a storm, relevant warnings may be issued for wind, rain, or snow, or a combination of those conditions.
Any warnings issued are based on a combination of numerical criteria and the potential impacts foreseen.
Up to date information on all Irish weather forecasts and warnings can be found on the Met Éireann website and app.
Since 2015, Met Éireann and the UK Met Office have been working together on the naming programme, and they were joined by the KNMI in 2019.
Other National Meteorological Service groups in the US and Europe also name storms.
When any National Met Service names a weather system, all others keep that name, including ex-hurricanes named by the US National Hurricane Center such as Charley (25 August 1986) and Ophelia (16th October 2017), which had major impacts in Ireland when they crossed the Atlantic.
A, Austen H. Nagle (1903-1984) was the first director of Irish Meteorological Service, appointed in 1936. He worked in the British Meteorological Office from 1927 to 1936, and served as Director of the IMS until 1948, when he took up a senior post in the United States Weather Bureau.
E, Evelyn Murphy was first woman to work as a meteorologist in Met Éireann and the first woman meteorologist to present the forecast on RTÉ television in 1983. She went on to head the Marine Unit and led the creation of the Irish Marine Data Buoy Observation Network from 2000 with the launch of Marine Buoy 1 (M1). The Network provides critical observational information for weather forecasts including storms. Evelyn Cusack was the first female head of forecasting at Met Éireann, and one of the longest-serving forecasters on RTÉ television.
H, Heather Taken from the list of names submitted by members of the public in Ireland in 2025.
K, Kilian P Kilian Rohan (1916-1999) was director of the Irish Meteorological Service from 1978 to 1981. He joined the Irish Meteorological Service in 1940, and over his career was involved in international aeronautical meteorology and climatology. He wrote the first authoritative description of the Irish climate, The Climate of Ireland (1976). Rohan led the move of the IMS to its new headquarters in Glasnevin in 1979.
L, Laoise Taken from the list of names submitted by members of the public in Ireland in 2025.
M, Miriam Miriam Lyons, first woman to work in Met Éireann as an operational Meteorological Officer in 1978. She was also the first Irish woman to fly in a jet fighter when posted in Casement Aerodrome.
P, Phelim Taken from the list of names submitted by members of the public in Ireland in 2025
Storm season 2025/26 overview
In the season just ending (2025/26), there were five* named storms affecting the area, starting with Amy in October 2025, and featuring Claudia (November), Bram (December), Chandra (January) and finally, Dave (April).
*Note – Storm Claudia was named by the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET), which forms part of the south-western Europe naming convention, also incorporating Portugal and France.
Overall, the season was characterised by strong Atlantic cyclones, with the most extreme wind conditions in October, the lowest pressure in January, the greatest rainfall in November and the final listed storm impact occurring in April. Every storm of the season brought its own mix of extreme and challenging weather to Ireland, from violent winds and exceptional waves to heavy rainfall and unusually high December temperatures during a storm.
• Storm Amy was the most severe wind event, bringing violent storm force sustained winds of 111kmh and gusts reaching 148kmh at Malin Head.
• Storm Claudia was less severe for wind but was the wettest event, producing a daily rainfall total of 66.9 mm at Johnstown Castle. Claudia also generated the highest individual wave of the season at 21.1 m at Buoy M5 off the south Wexford coast.
• Storm Bram was an unusually warm December storm with temperatures up to 17.2 °C at Phoenix Park.
• Storm Chandra was the deepest storm in the season, with mean sea level pressure falling to 958.4 hPa. Chandra also produced gusts of 130kmh at Malin Head, making it the second strongest wind event after Amy.
• Storm Dave in early April was the last-named storm of the season, bringing storm force winds, gusts of 111kmh and 38.6 mm of daily rainfall.
Irish storms in the past
• Across 11 seasons since the storm naming initiative began in 2015/16, there have been 87 storms observed and there has been high variability in the number of storms observed each season since then.
• The highest number of named storms affecting Ireland in a single season was fourteen, during 2023/24. However, 2015/16 remains the season with the greatest number reaching Storm Force 10 or higher, when nine of the 11 named storms produced sustained winds of Storm Force 10 or greater at coastal stations.
• The lowest number of storms affecting Ireland since the storm naming initiative began was four, during the 2022/23 season.
• The last hurricane force winds observed on land for Ireland were during Storm Éowyn on Friday 24th January 2025 with gusts up to 184kmh. This was the strongest gust speed ever recorded in Ireland, breaking the previous record of 182km/h set at Foynes, Co Limerick in 1945.
For more information on storm names and past extreme weather records, see Storm Centre and Major Weather Events.
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