The public is being asked to think woolly hard about the name for a future storm. The Met Office is inviting people to choose between two characters from the beloved animated TV series Shaun the Sheep – the titular character Shaun or his cousin Timmy the lamb. Whichever name is chosen will join the weather service’s official storm names list for the 2026/27 season.
The vote is a collaboration with the Oscar-winning animation studio Aardman, which produced Shaun the Sheep along with other beloved titles like Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run. The winning name will be announced on 1 September. However, there may not be a storm Shaun or Timmy as they are named alphabetically each storm season, and the furthest the Met Office has ever made it through the alphabet is to L, with Storm Lilian in August 2024.
Stormy McStormFace, Dame Judi Drench and David Blowy were among some of the names which did not make the cut. Only 21 were chosen – all public suggestions, including tributes to loved ones and pets such as Amy, Dave, Stevie and Violet. The Met Office began naming storms in 2015.
It works with Ireland’s meteorological service Met Éireann and KNMI, the Dutch national weather service, to develop the annual storm names list each year. The film Shaun The Sheep: The Beast Of Mossy Bottom, the third feature-length film about the characters, will be released on 18 September. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
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