The Met Office has unveiled its chosen storm names for the next year – with real-life weather experts and a Beano character offering some inspiration.

Forecasters believe that giving incoming bad weather a moniker helps to ensure the public pay attention to the risks posed by particularly strong winds.

And over the next year it could be Agnes, Debi, Henk or Olga that will take charge of a weather system which is predicted by meteorologists to cause medium or high impact in the UK or Ireland.

Wind is the primary consideration for naming a storm on the horizon, but additional problems that could be caused by heavy rain or snow will also be considered in the naming process.

Ahead of Storm Eunice, which hit the UK last year, the Met Office says 99% of people within the red warning area of the southeast were aware of the alerts - highlighting just how effective storm naming can be as a communications tool.

This season’s upcoming storm names have been announced by the Met Office, in partnership with Met Éireann in Ireland and KNMI in the Netherlands.

The Met Office’s suggestions include names of people who work to protect the public in times of severe weather, as well as some submissions from the public who were invited to cast a vote earlier in the year.

Met Éireann’s submissions are inspired by famous scientists, including Jocelyn after Dame Jocelyn Bell, the famous astrophysicist.

Fans of Beano might also spot a Storm Minnie in the list, which follows in the footsteps of Storm Dennis in 2020.

Minnie’s reaction is also expected to feature in a Beano issue later this month as part of a special feature on storms.

Met Office Head of Situational Awareness Will Lang, who leads responses in times of severe weather, said: “This is the ninth year of us naming storms and we do it because it works. Naming storms helps to ease communication of severe weather and provides clarity when people could be impacted by the weather.

“This year, it’s great to be able to recognise the collaborative efforts of some of our partners across the UK with the inclusion of names from some partner organisations. Working across different agencies allows us to help as many people as possible be prepared for severe weather.”

The 2023/24 storm name list in full:

Agnes

Babet

Ciarán

Debi

Elin

Fergus

Gerrit

Henk

Isha

Jocelyn

Kathleen

Lilian

Minnie

Nicholas

Olga

Piet

Regina

Stuart

Tamiko

Vincent

Walid