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FORECASTERS IN IRELAND and the UK are working on a scheme to start naming North Atlantic storms — and the new regime could be in place within a few months.
Head of Forecasting at Met Éireann Gerald Fleming told TheJournal.ie talks with the UK Met Office were at an advanced stage.
Neither weather service gives names to low pressure systems currently.
On the continent, an unofficial naming regime is run by the Free University in Berlin.
On other occasions, media outlets simply name storms after the nearest saint’s day or anniversary (hence, last February’s monster ‘Darwin’ system — so-called because it fell on the anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth).
“We’re currently in discussions with our neighbours in Britain — because we share the same storms by and large with the UK, and we share the same language, and in sense we share the same media very often,” Fleming explained.
“If we have a name on the storm people know what we’re talking about — we don’t just have to say ‘that storm that passed us by on the 14th of January last’ or something like that.
It will give it some personality and it will allow people to relate to it more easily, because — particularly in a winter like last winter when we had so many storms — it will make it a little more easy to distinguish between them.
Ready for the worst
In terms of the country’s preparedness for whatever nasty weather might befall us in January and February — we are, according to Fleming “an awful lot more ready than we used to be”.
As part of his job, Fleming sits on the Government’s Emergency Planning Committee — the wide-ranging panel that also includes officials from the Defence Forces, the Gardaí, the Coast Guard, the OPW, and a multitude of other departments and agencies.
He was heading off to one of their meetings after his sit-down chat at our newsroom last Thursday, in fact (nothing to worry about, he said — just a regular check-in to make sure all their plans are up-to-date).
The country’s forecasting chief gave us a run-through of how that body works, how they interact with the Cabinet and the Taoiseach during severe weather episodes … and what they do if local authorities decide to ‘press the emergency button’.
‘A very good night to you’
Finally…
It’s years since Fleming last appeared on our TV screens to give a forecast — but we couldn’t let the poor man depart our offices without asking him to do this….
For those of you who chose to read this article purely in the interests of meteorological research click away now…
This is the fluffy, final bit of our interview when we asked ‘what’s it like to be a science-y Martin King’ and other similarly hard-hitting questions.
Video: Michelle Hennessy
First published 8.30am
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They are in a mess over there . The virus is on the rise again. What we don’t need now is a load of holidaymakers from the UK after all we have sacrificed as a nation over the past 3 to 4 months.
@Finnster: Unfortunately it will be back to square one when projected uk flights resume, hard to avoid or control
@Finnster: a few hen and stag parties in temple bar should do wonders for herd immunity.
It will be great if Trump gets elected for another 4 years in November and Britain will have at least 4 more years of Boris. Strong leaders who are at the top of their game. No wishy washy policy’s with these guys. They are tough on crime and that is the trademark of good leadership
@Maurice O Neill: Troll alert
@Finnster: Not even a decent troll attempt, I know it’s Sunday and he may be tired but that’s just pathetic.
@Mel Fitzpatrick: If you happen to support a view that is different from another’s persons its called having an opinion. Problem with society today is exactly why I feel so strong about having a right to an opinion.
@Maurice O Neill: No problem with different opinions at all. It’s part of being human. However you must expect to be called on your opinions when there’s scant evidence to support them and the evidence to counter them exists unfiltered in the public domain in Terms of Tweets, unedited interview transcripts, live video recordings and their actions/lack of actions. They are utterly unfit to hold any office and be called leaders.
@Nick: I agree with you. Leaders are elected by the people and not by emotion and sentiment unless you are from China where they have no Democracy
@Maurice O Neill: do you live underneath electricity pylons?
@Maurice O Neill: You should expect to be called out when you defend the indefensible.
With opinions like yours, I would have thought you’d be used to it.
@Maurice O Neill: Boris is the very epitome of ‘wishy – washy’. Vague, indecisive, living on ill-defined sound-bites.
@Maurice O Neill: Not sure if you read what I posted. I did not question their election status. I pointed out that there is a multitude of evidence demonstrating their total ineptitude & unsuitability to hold any office. This is not an attack on the democratic process. However for the US, decades of problems with their political, economic, social & educational systems helped create the conditions for a Trump like figure to emerge. In the UK, decades of anti EU propaganda along with problems in their political, social & economic systems helped to create the conditions for a charlatan like Boris to emerge. Democracy isn’t perfect & it can result in the characters like Trump and Boris gaining power if the conditions are right. Democracy requires work which seems to be lacking at the moment.
@Maurice O Neill: being tough on crime is the trademark of good leadership? Do you have anything tho back that up or is it like Trump’s leadership style purely based on a hunch?
@Nick: And what one of our great leaders last week praising Fidel Castro..Any issue with that or does he get a pass because of his political beliefs
@Maurice O Neill: I don’t think you understand. This is about your original post where your praised Trump and Boris. It’s been pointed out to you how there is repeated evidence of their unsuitability for holding any office and how the poor state of democracy in both countries contribued to their rise. Moving on to Irish politicians is entering the realm of “whataboutery”. Is there any hope of you backing up your statement.
@Maurice O Neill: Yes, Putin and King Jong and the Brazilian president too, all tough on crime but like Trump and Johnson lack emotional intelligence and empathy and any financial acumen but strong men all the same!
@Maurice O Neill: Considering you train out young teams I am a bit worried about your influence on them now.
@Maurice O Neill: I hope that’s sarcasim, bull in a china shop more like…
@Maurice O Neill: Boris a strong leader??? Don’t you mean Dominic Cummins.. Boris is his puppet
There’s also Brexit looming over the horizon. Looks like they’ve dropped their food standards to accommodate the US. Nissan has said it will go in the event of a no deal, and they’re not ready for the Irish sea border.
project fear they called it, rapidly becoming project fact.
I think we all Boris and apology. It seems like he was one step ahead all along
: the chlorinated chicken he is now importing from the US will not only give them the protein they need to roll up their sleeves and rebuild Britain post brexit, but also it will act as a natural preventative against covid-19. (According to Blonde no. 1) Genius! It’s time we ate some humble pie- humble pie that is with chlorinated chicken.
Expect large rise in cases/ deaths following weekend of stupid protests and mass gatherings.. why stupid? cos we’re in the middle of a virus pandemic…
@Sean Fallon: Black lives matter , so we organise a mass public rally in Dublin at the weekend to facilitate the spread of the virus . What about the hysteria about travel to Cheltenham, and social distancing ? No problem , “talk to Joe “ . If his bandwagon promotion of the event and his endorsement of certain people of colour as more Irish than the Irish themselves then the recent mob activity in Bristol is not far around the corner .
All lives matter, but perhaps the safety of white lives in Ireland should receive some sympathy as citizens and tax payers !
Honestly.. will yous cop on
have your say