Why Abigail, Henry and Wendy could soon kick up a storm
WATCH OUT for storms Abigail, Henry and Wendy - among many others - after the public suggested names for those likely to affect the UK and Ireland.
Last month the Met Office and Met Eireann announced a pilot project to name storms that may be blowing this way this autumn and winter.
They received thousands of responses by email, through the Met Office Facebook pages and @metoffice on Twitter.
The winning names were: Abigail, Barney, Clodagh, Desmond, Eva, Frank, Gertrude, Henry, Imogen, Jake, Katie, Lawrence, Mary, Nigel, Orla, Phil, Rhonda, Steve, Tegan, Vernon and Wendy.
It is hoped that naming storms will help raise awareness of severe weather and ensure greater safety of the public.
A storm will be named when it is deemed to have the potential to cause a substantial impact in the UK and/or Ireland.
If a storm is the remnants of a tropical storm or hurricane that has moved across the Atlantic, the already established method of referring to it as, for example “Ex-hurricane X”, will continue.