NAMES which honour some of Ireland’s most significant historic meteorological figures have been selected among the new storm names for 2026 and 2027.
Twenty-one new names have been issued for the new storm season which starts today.
They include seven from Ireland as well as seven from the UK and seven from the Netherlands.
The Irish contribution features names associated with Met Éireann’s history, as part of celebrations of the meteorological service’s 90th anniversary, which falls this year.
Austen, Evelyn, Kilian and Miriam have all been chosen for their connections with the Irish weather organisation.
Austen H Nagle was the first director of the Irish Meteorological Service. He was appointed in 1936 and held the post until 1948.
Mr Nagle worked in the British Meteorological Office from 1927 to 1936.
Evelyn Murphy was the first woman to work as a meteorologist in Met Éireann and the first woman meteorologist to present the forecast on RTÉ television in 1983.
Kilian Rohan (1916-1999) was director of the Irish Meteorological Service from 1978 to 1981 and Miriam Lyons was the first woman to work in Met Éireann as an operational Meteorological Officer in 1978.
She was also the first Irish woman to fly in a jet fighter when posted in Casement Aerodrome.
The remaining three Irish storm names were all chosen from a longlist of nominations proposed through a public campaign run last year.
They are Heather, Laoise and Phelim.
“Naming storms helps Met Éireann in our mission to protect life and property through the provision of world-class weather, climate, and flood services,” Eoin Sherlock, Head of Forecasting Division in Met Éireann, said as the names were revealed today.
“Using consistent names and communications allows us and other public safety organisations to increase awareness of severe and impactful weather alongside our weather warnings,” he added.
The full 2026/27 list of storm names is Austen, Boelo, Chloe, Dano, Evelyn, Finn, Gwendolyn, Heather, Ivy, Jade, Kilian, Laoise, Miriam, Nicola, Olaf, Phelim, Ruban, Shaun, Theo, Vesna and Wende.
Everything from irishpost.com and the print edition is available on the Irish Post App — plus more! Download it for Android or Apple IOS devices today.