Why Do European Windstorms Like Storm Amy Get Different Names And What Is The Criteria?

Storm Amy brought widespread wind and rain to northern Europe and at least one fatality in Ireland, but where did it get its name?

(FOR MORE: Storm Amy Slams Northeastern Europe)

Amy is the first name in a whole list of names used specifically for European windstorms.

You know how the U.S. has names for hurricanes? It is a similar concept, but there are a few key differences.

What Are The Names?

Let’s start with the names themselves.

Each year, a list of storm names is issued for European windstorms on September 1. This day marks the first day of the “season” with the list of names lasting until the next year’s list is released on the next September 1st.

These storms are named as a group effort from the meteorology agencies of the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands.

So, if you see the names U.K. Met Office, Ireland's Met Éireann or the Netherlands KNMI, now you know what they are referring to. Just think of them as the “National Weather Services” of these nations.

There are several other lists of names given to storms in other parts of Europe.

And in case you are wondering, they pick the names based on submissions from the public and also popular names and names that reflect the diversity of the U.K., Ireland and the Netherlands. They obviously don’t pick controversial names, names that are hard to pronounce or names linked to public figures.

Why The Names?

So, now that the backstory has been established, let's dive into the why.

The last storm of the 2024 - 2025 season, Storm Floris, which happened back in August, brought significant impacts to the region. The Met Office observed that due to the naming, 93% of people in amber alerts, their level 2 of 3 for threats, were aware of the pending danger and 83% of them prepared for the storm.

Naming the strongest storms can save lives.

What Are The Factors?

So now we have the what and the why? Let’s talk about the factors for these storms. What is the criteria for being named?

The U.K. Met Office discusses that a storm will be named when they issue an amber warning, or a level 2 of 3, or a red warning, or a level 3 of 3. Amber warnings are issued when widespread impacts are expected and red warnings are issued when there is a threat to life.

Storms are usually based on high winds but should a storm be more of a rain or snow threat, the amber warning can be reached for these as well.

Hurricane Names Vs European Storm Names

To those who didn’t know, Storm Amy didn’t come out of nowhere.

It is actually the remnants of Hurricane Humberto.

So, if you are wondering why they didn’t call Amy Humberto, I’ll break down why.

It has to do with the structure of the storm as it moves into the area. Should Humberto have still been a hurricane, or a storm with a closed circulation and a warm core, then the U.K. Met Office would call the storm “Storm Humberto”. However, due to Humberto transitioning to post-tropical by falling apart significantly and merging with a nearby cold front, it takes on a new name: Storm Amy.

After all, which sounds scarier: Storm Amy or Remnants of Hurricane Humberto? To me, it's a no-brainer.

Rob Shackelford is a meteorologist and climate scientist at weather.com. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia studying meteorology and experimenting with alternative hurricane forecasting tools.