Storm Dennis continues its rampage but soon it will be history. Somewhere off the coast of Newfoundland the next storm will be forming and our weather forecasters will be salivating at the prospect of alerting us to the perils of Storm Ethel or Eric (in reality it will be named Ellen) as they conjure up another national drama and place themselves at the heart of it. As a name, Dennis left much to be desired - in its innate modesty, it could never carry the weight of menace the forecasters strained to convey. Dennis is a fine name for a double-entry bookkeeper from South Ruislip, not a stupendous storm of epic proportions bringing chaos and destruction in its wake. Storm names for 2019-2020 were devised as a joint effort by the UK Met Office, Met Éireann, and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and announced last September. Many of the chosen names are as underwhelming as Dennis although if things get really bad we can eventually look forward to Storm Piet, which will forever be known as the Mondrian Storm. Public submissions are invited, always a mistake - witness Boaty McBoatface. Any suggestions from me are unlikely to get far but if by some miracle they were adopted you may find yourself nailing up your windows and doors as Storm Dracula, Damoclese, Dreadnought, Deuteronymy, Demosthenes or Dumbledore approaches.
No comments:
Post a Comment