Storm Gerrit is set to impact many parts of UK today (Wednesday, December 27) with several yellow weather warnings in place for wind and rain.

The Met Office has chosen to name the storm as it is expected to be a busy day on the roads, with people returning home after Christmas.

People should expect journeys to take longer than normal in the hazardous conditions, the AA has warned.

The southern coast of England, north-west England and Wales, much of Scotland and Northern Ireland are covered by the warnings, BBC News reports.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist Frank Saunders said: “Storm Gerrit will run towards western UK on Wednesday and bring with it potential impacts for much of the UK.

“Winds across southern coastal areas of England will be strong, possibly peaking around 70 mph on exposed coastlines, but more widely around 50-60 mph within the warning area.

“Rain is an additional hazard from Storm Gerrit, with active weather fronts leading to a wet day for many. Snow is also likely to cause problems for some northern areas: only briefly for a few upland routes across the Pennines and southern Scotland overnight and early on Wednesday, but more widely to the north of the Central Lowlands later in the day."

But how did Storm Gerrit get its name and how are UK storm names decided upon generally?

How are UK storm names decided?

Storms as a whole are named so people can more easily engage with weather forecasts, with the practice being established in the 1950s.

In 2015, following the success of the US model, the UK Met Office and Irish service Met Éireann launched their first "Name our Storms" campaign, BBC News reports.

Most years, they draw the names from a shortlist of favourites submitted by the public.

Additionally, they have been joined by the National Weather Service of the Netherlands who contribute a few names each year.

As part of the 2023/24 weather season, the Met Office has named a number of storms after prominent scientists, meteorologists and other people involved in the weather.

In the past, storms have alternated between male and female names but that has altered this year in order to honour the right people.

An almost full alphabet of names is put forward each year, except for ones beginning with Q, U, X, Y and Z. The storms for 2023 are:

  • Agnes
  • Babet
  • Ciarán
  • Debi
  • Elin
  • Fergus
  • Gerrit
  • Henk
  • Isha
  • Jocelyn
  • Kathleen
  • Lilian
  • Minnie
  • Nicholas
  • Olga
  • Piet
  • Regina
  • Stuart
  • Tamiko
  • Vincent
  • Walid

Only around six to seven storms impact the UK during a season, so there are many names that won't be used.