Barra, Méabh, Pól and Seán are among the names that have made it on the latest international storm list for 2021 to 2022.
Diarmuid was put to a vote along with Duncan, Dudley and Dafydd.
However, Dudley was the winner – perhaps influenced by the “magic” of the fictional character in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series of books, three weather services have said.
The list for the 2021-2022 storm season was drawn up by Met Éireann, the British Met Office and the Dutch weather service KNMI.
Met Éireann and the British Met Office have been working together since 2014 on the “storm names partnership” and were joined by KMNI in 2019.
Similar to previous years, each weather service has contributed names reflective of their nation and culture, mainly suggested by members of the public.
The new list begins with Arwen, and continues with Barra or Finbar, Corrie and Dudley.
Also selected are Eunice, Franklin, Gladys, Herman, Imani, Jack, Kim, Logan, Méabh, Nasim, Olwen, Pól, Ruby, Séan, Tineke, Vergil and Willemien.
“Last winter was relatively quiet with only one storm named by Met Éireann - Storm Aiden at Halloween,” Met Éireann’s head of forecasting Evelyn Cusack noted.
“Once again Met Éireann will continue to work with our national weather service colleagues in the UK and Netherlands by continuing to provide a clear and consistent message to the public, and encouraging people to take action to prevent harm to themselves or to their properties at times of severe weather,” she said.
“Also this month we are delighted to see the launch of our new audio weather forecasts, where people can listen to the latest forecast delivered by our team of Met Éireann forecasters,” Cusack added.
“We’re all aware of some of the severe weather that has been witnessed across Europe and globally in recent months,”Will Lang, Met Office head of the national severe weather warning service said,
“ We work to use any tool at our disposal to ensure the public is informed of potential risks, and naming storms is just one way we do that,”Lang explained.
“Storms are not confined to national borders - it makes a lot of sense to given common names to such extreme weather events,” Gerard van der Steenhoven, KNMI director general, said.
