New names chosen for storms to hit British

Barney, Desmond, Steve, Tegan and Wendy are among the names chosen by members of the public to identify storms that might hit Britain in the future.

The Met Office on Tuesday announced the results after receiving thousands of responses via email, Facebook and Twitter, BBC reported.

It is hoped that naming storms will help raise awareness of severe weather and ensure that people protect themselves, the office said.

A storm will be named when it is deemed potentially able to cause "substantial" impact not only in Britain but also in Ireland.

The full list of names chosen for future selection are: Abigail, Barney, Clodagh, Desmond, Eva, Frank, Gertrude, Henry, Imogen, Jake, Katie, Lawrence, Mary, Nigel, Orla, Phil, Rhonda, Steve, Tegan, Vernon and Wendy.

They will be taken from the list, in alphabetical order, alternating between male and female names.

There is a name for each letter of the alphabet, excluding Q, U, X, Y and Z, which is the same naming convention as used in the US to help maintain consistency for North Atlantic storms.

Experts have found that attaching a name to a weather event makes it easier to follow its progress and simpler to reference on social media.

Severe weather in October 2013 was referred to as the St. Jude's storm as it was due to arrive on St. Jude's day.