The list of storm names for the next 12 months has been revealed.
There are 21 names on the list released by Met Éireann, the UK’S Met Office and the Dutch forecasting service KNMI.
Austen, Boelo and Chloe will be the first named storms of the winter, followed by Dano, Evelyn, Finn, Gwendolyn, Heather, Ivy, Jade, Kilian, Laoise, Miriam, Nicola, Olaf, Phelim, Ruban, Shaun, Theo, Vesna and Wende.
Each partner organisation is responsible for seven names.
Met Éireann picked four historically significant names – Austen, Evelyn, Kilian and Miriam – that are associated with the service’s history as it celebrates its 90th anniversary.
Austen was chosen in honour of Austen Nagle, the first director of Met Éireann, while Evelyn was chosen for Evelyn Murphy, the first woman to present the weather on RTÉ.
Evelyn also honours Evelyn Cusack, the first female head of forecasting at Met Éireann and one of the longest serving forecasters on RTÉ Television.
Meanwhile, Heather, Laoise and Phelim were chosen following a public campaign run last year.
Met Éireann says naming storms helps to communicate the risks from severe weather more effectively.
Eoin Sherlock, Head of Forecasting Division in Met Éireann, said: “Naming storms helps Met Éireann in our mission to protect life and property through the provision of world-class weather, climate, and flood services.
“Using consistent names and communications allows us and other public safety organisations to increase awareness of severe and impactful weather alongside our weather warnings.
“2026 marks the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Irish Meteorological Service and we are proud to be able to recognise some of the significant contributors to our history in the list of storm names this year, such as the first director of the Service in 1936, Austen Nagle, and the first woman to hold an operational role as a meteorological officer, Miriam Lyons.”
The Deputy Head of Forecasting at Met Éireann said that the forecaster received around 10,000 storm name submissions from over 4,000 people.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Aoife Kealy said that the names were generally chosen to represent the diverse nature of society while some were proposed by family members.
She explained that the reason behind naming the storms is to create public awareness.
“It acts as a call to action in the event of severe weather,” she said, “and the collaboration between the different met services. It also supports that co-ordination and enables clear messaging across borders.
“If a storm is heading our direction, it’s often likely that it will cross the UK and the Netherlands as well. So really it works as a powerful communication tool.
“So, it helps us in our mission to protect life and property across Ireland.”
Ms Kealy also said that the coming storm season will be affected by a strong El Niño.
El Niño is a powerful natural climate phenomenon that pushes up global temperatures, adding to the effects of human-driven climate change.