Owain included in Met Office list of storm names for the 2022/23 season

Owain is the only Welsh name included in the new list of storm names revealed by the Met Office for the 2022/23 season.

Last year three names “of Welsh origin” were included on the list, Arwen, Gladys and Olwen.

However, despite sounding similar to the Welsh name Anwen, the name Arwen was in fact invented by JRR Tolkien for inclusion in the Lord of the Rings trilogy as an Elvish princess.

Storm Arwen caused severe disruption across the UK when it struck last November.

The new storms list – first launched in 2015 – for each year generally runs from early September until late August the following year, coinciding with the beginning of autumn.

Members of the public can suggest names by emailing [email protected].

Public vote

This year Daisy, Glen, Khalid and Owain came through e-mail submissions, while Betty won a public vote on Twitter, with more than 12,000 votes cast.

Storms are named when they have the potential to cause an amber or red warning.

A list of possible names are compiled by Irish forecaster Met Eireann, the UK’s Met Office and the Dutch national weather forecasting service KNMI.

KNMI selected Antoni, Hendrika, Johanna and Loes, in honour of famous Dutch scientists. While Met Eireann chose Cillian, Fleur, Ide, and Nelly.

Owain is one of the few Welsh names to be consistently popular over the last 100 years in Wales and England particularly with the anglicised spelling Owen.

Owain Glyndŵr, the last Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales, is arguably the most famous Welshman to carry the name, but there is another Owain, with a meteorological connection, who was celebrating as the list was published.

If I ever do drag, I know that my drag name would be Amber Warning… but I was never expecting to see a Storm Owain! The next set of storm names has been revealed, and look who's on the list?! @metoffice 😂🌪💅 pic.twitter.com/NPpi4nCrph

— Owain Wyn Evans (@OwainWynEvans) September 1, 2022

Met Office head of situational awareness Will Lang, who leads responses in times of severe weather, said naming storms helped raise public awareness.

“We know from seven years of doing this that naming storms works,” he said.

“Last year, Storms Arwen and Eunice brought some severe impacts to the UK and we know that naming storms helps to raise awareness and give the public the information they need to stay safe in times of severe weather.”

In a press statement, the Met Office said that 98% of those within the red warning area in the southeast for Storm Eunice were aware of the warning, and 91% of those took action to protect themselves, their property or business.

The next names on the storms list are: Antoni, Betty, Cillian, Daisy, Elliot, Fleur, Glen, Hendrika, Ide, Johanna, Khalid, Loes, Mark, Nelly, Owain, Priya, Ruadhan, Sam, Tobias, Val, Wouter.