Noah-way! Met Office links with Dutch
Exeter's Met Office has named next year's storms - and linked with Dutch national weather forecasters for the first time to do so.
Now in its fifth year, the list is already jointly compiled with the Irish weather service. As Gerard van Der Steenhoven, director of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, says: "Storms are not confined to national borders."
Some names may seem distinctly English at face-value. Dennis should hit relatively early in the year - but that's an ancient Norman name, so we have the Danes to thank for that. Some look suspiciously Irish. Stand up Liam. The Dutch probably came up with Gerda and Piet.
The Met Office claims naming storms helps public awareness and the list has been compiled with the help of a public consultation. Five letters of the alphabet aren't used in the list, because of few names beginning with Q, U, X, Y or Z. Storm Willow will be the 21st storm of 2020, if we get that far.
There could be stormy times ahead. Even Noah's on standby for 2020.
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