Why wasn't Storm Herminia included in the Met Office's list of names
Weather warnings for wind and heavy rain have been issued across the country on Monday as Storm Herminia strikes.
The Met Office has said the storm will likely bring further damage and disruption – especially to Wales and southern England – on the back of Storm Éowyn.
More than one million people were left without power over the weekend due to snow, ice and wind speeds of more than 100mph.
Éowyn was the fifth-named storm of the year, with the Met Office working its way through the alphabet. There has, therefore, been some confusion over the naming of the storm – especially with Storm Floris the next on the list of storm names.
Here is why we have seemingly jumped ahead to Herminia.
The Met Office names storms alongside its equivalent weather agencies in Ireland and the Netherlands, the Met Éireann and KNMI.
It decides on an alphabet every August for the following year, which runs September to August. We have already felt storms Ashley, Bert, Conall, and Darragh.
Storm Éowyn began on January 21 and does not, as of Monday, have an end point.
The next storm named by the three agencies will be called Floris.
It's important to note this is not Storm Floris – but, instead, Storm Herminia.
The Met Office has not skipped ahead on its list. Nor has Floris been forgotten about. If and when we do reach H, it will be called Storm Hugo.
Storm Herminia originated in Spain and France and has blown over to northern Europe.
Therefore, it was named by the Spanish weather agency and is not considered to be on the Met's list.
'This not unusual, in 2023, we had Storm Otto and Storm Noa before Storm Antoni,' the Met Office notes.
Spain, France, and Portugal all work together in the same way that Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands do. This bloc also takes in Belgium and Luxembourg. There is also cohesion between Scandinavian countries Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
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