UK Give storms Names - Gist

Parts of the UK have been hit by Storm Brian this October.

You might also remember we had Storm Aileen in September.
But why do storms have names?
Hector, Larry, Niall and Winifred are some of the other names that have been chosen to be given to storms in the UK and Ireland in 2017/18.
The Met Office, which keeps track of the weather here, has decided to give storms boys and girls names in the same way as they do in America.
But why do they need names and how are they decided? Here's Newsround's guide.

The Met Office hopes that naming big storms will mean people are more aware of them and how dangerous they can be.
They think that it will be easier to follow the progress of a storm on the TV, radio, or on social media, if it has a name.
Derrick Ryall, from the Met Office, said: "We have seen how naming storms elsewhere in the world raises awareness of severe weather before it strikes."

How big do the storms have to be?

Image copyright Andy Buchanan

Not all storms will be big enough to get names - only those expected to cause significant damage.

Who decides if they're named after girls or boys?

Image copyright NASA

The UK storms will take it in turns to be girls' or boys' names.
In America and other parts of the world, big storms and hurricanes already have names. Strangely, research shows that hurricanes with female names are more likely to hurt more people than those with males names.
Scientists think that's because people find female names less threatening.

Which storm name will be picked first?

Image copyright Andy Buchanan

They will be taken from the list in alphabetical order.
There is a name for each letter of the alphabet, excluding Q, U, X, Y and Z. That's the same naming convention used in America.
The full list of names chosen for selection this year is: Aileen, Brian, Caroline, Dylan, Eleanor, Fionn, Georgina, Hector, Iona, James, Karen, Larry, Maeve, Niall, Octavia, Paul, Rebecca, Simon, Tali, Victor and Winifred.