ANOTHER storm is battling through the UK.
So let’s find out what it’s called, and what other storms we can expect to see in 2022.
1
What will the next storm be named?
Following Storm Franklin, the next storm will be Storm Gladys.
The UK has been hit with a barrage of storms this past week, with Storm Franklin set to calm down by midday Monday, February 21.
There is the possibility of Storm Gladys arriving on Thursday, February 24, but it is too far away at this point to say for definite.
Flood warnings and wind warnings are still in place from Storm Franklin and the weather will remain bad all week.
WEATHER LATEST
What are the Met Office storm names for 2022?
Every major storm will be named according to the list, ordered alphabetically.
- Corrie (Sunday, January 30)
- Dudley (Wednesday, February 16)
- Eunice (Friday, February 18)
- Franklin
- Gladys
- Herman
- Imani
- Jack
- Kim
- Logan
- Méabh
- Nasim
- Olwen
- Pól
- Ruby
- Seán
- Tineke
- Vergil
- Willemien
Why are there no storms for Q, U, X, Y and Z?
To ensure the Met Office is in line with the US National Hurricane Centre naming conventions, it does not include names which begin with the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z. This is to ensure consistency for official storm naming in the North Atlantic – to reduce confusion for fellow weather experts, sea captains and pilots.
In America, when all the names in the storm alphabet are used, the naming convention follows the Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, Gamma…).
Why did the UK start naming storms?
Analysis has shown that naming storms makes people more aware of the severe weather and helps them prepare for them in advance.
Surveys showed people were more aware of the threat and more likely to take action after hearing the name of a storm, rather than a forecast simply saying bad weather is on the way.
The Met Office and its Irish counterpart Met Eireann decided to follow the US system of giving girls and boys’ names to tropical storms and hurricanes.
Is there a difference between male and female storms?
A study of American hurricanes has shed light on an alarming pattern and explained that more people are killed by “female” storms than those with male names.
The reason why is all down to how we subconsciously view gender, since we’re more likely to assume that storms with female names will be less dangerous. This means people end up taking fewer precautions to protect themselves, according to researchers at the University of Illinois.
Incredibly, the 2014 study added that the more feminine the name, the more people a storm is likely to kill. The researchers even suggested that changing a hurricane’s name from Charley to Eloise could triple the number of fatalities.
Co-author Sharon Shavitt, a professor at the University of Illinois, said: “In judging the intensity of a storm, people appear to be applying their beliefs about how men and women behave.”
