The Number Of Named Storms Should Not Be Used As Climate Index–Met Office
January 26, 2024
By Paul Homewood
Amidst all of the hype about how many named storms we have had this winter, it is worth reading what the Met Office wrote in their State of the UK Climate 2022 report, published last year:
https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/joc.8167
In short, the naming of storms is a highly subjective process, and has no scientific or statistical validity whatsoever.
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
“Storm naming improves the communication of approaching severe weather … ”
I’d name all of them “Freaking” or similar. Freaking I; Freaking II, … Freaking XX.
News headline: Freaking VII is coming. Buy candles, beer, chocolate. Hide.
It’s propaganda. Named storms are just so much more scary.
‘In short, the naming of storms is a highly subjective process, and has no scientific or statistical validity whatsoever.’
. . . in a year with 5 storms. If there are 12, it’s a clear sign of climate change.
On R4 the other morning it was claimed that storms were getting worse and more frequent because we has 9 named storms last year and already we have had 8 this winter…..so it’s climate change!
Err.. nothing to do with the fact that they name every little bit of a blow a STORM
Stuart
it would be interesting if someone could be bothered to examine the Met Office charts and work out how many named storms there’d have been in previous years!
“Storm naming improves the communication of approaching severe weather,,,”
No, it does not. It makes it vaguer.
Naming a storm will give most people the idea that it is a very general and widespread depression. “Storm Bugger-All to lash Britain” will make people in Kent fearful, even when the actual gales may be five hundred miles north of them.
The old-fashioned weather report for ships was proper communication: “Trafalgar: Southerly Gale, force 7, imminent; force 8 at times, backing South-Easterly later, and easing to Force 5.”
Of course, anybody, with an ounce of initiative, can get a pretty good forecast for their location, within minutes, from any one of the professional services on the internet.
Mind you, human error is always lurking. I know of a yacht that was told by Naples radio that winds would be very light, and then sailed into a severe storm!
Once out of it, they complained and received the reply, “Scusi! Somebody read badly written 9 as 1.”
over sixty years as a naval person and yschtsman doesn’t give me much of an insight but I’m pretty sure “ it doesn’t blow like it used to”. Actually that’s older seafaring bar talk! I truth I don’t think there’s any difference these days.