Met Office asks Twitter to help it name the next storms – and Boris has been suggested
Suggestions include and Stormy McStormface and Storm Fortnite
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Your support makes all the difference.The Met Office is calling on the British public to help them name the UK's next storms.
On Tuesday, the national weather service posted on Twitter asking for users to provide suggestions.
“Why do we name storms? To raise awareness of impacts of severe weather, helping keep people safe and prepared,” the tweet said, along with instructions of how to send suggestions to the office.
Users are instructed to post possible names for the storms by tagging @metoffice and using the hashtag #NameOurStorms.
Following the post, several Twitter users replied with possible contenders for the storm including “Boris” (presumably after the UK’s new prime minister, Boris Johnson) and “Storm Pepperoni”.
While Storm Boris is a popular suggestion among Twitter users, it is unlikely it will make the final cut.
A spokesperson from the Met Office tells The Independent: “Names of political figures and storms that have previously caused mass destruction to loss of life won’t be used.
The representative adds: “When we initially launched it five years ago, we called for name suggestions from the public and the most popular ones have been used up. We thought it was worth a refresh so are doing a similar process.”
In a Facebook Live video, the Met Office explained it was launching the initiative in July, despite having done so from September in previous years.
"We found we were getting low pressures deep enough to be named storms in late spring. Nowadays, the storm season runs from September to September," a spokesperson said.
Some users have suggested naming a future storm “Stormy McStormface”, three years after the Natural Environment Research Council found that RRS Boaty McBoatface was the most popular name for its new polar research ship following a public vote.
Despite the popularity for the unusual name, former science minister Jo Johnson later said there would be “more suitable” names to choose and later announced that the £200m vessel would be named after naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.
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