UK weather: Why have there been so many storms this year and could more be on the way?
When Storm Jocelyn hit the UK this week – hot on the heels of Storm Isha – it was the tenth named storm to sweep across the country this winter.
It was only the second time in a UK storm season that the letter J has been reached in the alphabet.
Since storm naming was introduced in 2015, the furthest through the list the group has got is to Storm Katie in 2016.
This season is now one name away from equalling that record – with more than seven months to go until the list resets in September.
So why have there been so many named storms – and could there be more to come?
What’s in a name?
Storms are named when they are likely to cause medium or high impacts in Ireland, the UK or the Netherlands.
The names are compiled by the UK’s Met Office, Ireland’s forecaster Met Eireann, and the Netherlands’ KNMI.
The system was created to raise awareness of severe weather and help people to prepare themselves.
The storm season runs from the beginning of September to August the following year.
What is behind this year’s storms?
This year’s stormy weather is largely down to the jet stream, according to the Met Office.
Met Office meteorologist Annie Shuttleworth said: “While we have had some drier and calmer interludes, the stormy nature of the UK’s autumn and winter so far is chiefly dictated by the position and strength of the jet stream, which is a column of air high up in the atmosphere.
“The jet stream greatly influences the weather we experience in the UK and during recent months this has largely been directed towards the UK and Ireland, helping to deepen low pressure systems.
“These systems have been directed towards the UK and have eventually become named storms due to the strong winds and heavy rain they bring.”
More recently, a pool of very cold air has sunk southwards across North America, the Met Office said, causing a temperature contrast that has intensified the jet stream and influenced Storms Isha and Jocelyn.
Workers remove a tree that fell on an electricity substation during Storm Isha. Pic: PA
Is the weather beocming more stormy?
There is evidence that human-influenced climate change has contributed to temperature extremes, heavy rainfall events, and rising sea levels around the world, according to the Met Office.
But they note it is hard to detect trends in the number and severity of wind events in the UK.
Our climate overall is getting wetter, the Met Office’s Dr Amy Doherty said – but there aren’t “compelling trends” that show increased storminess over the past decades.
“One thing that is clear from observations is that there’s big variability year-to-year in the number and intensity of storms that impact the UK,” she said.
Most climate projections indicate winter wind storms will increase slightly in number and intensity over the UK as a result of climate change, the Met Office said.
“We can be confident that the coastal impacts of wind storms, from storm surges and high waves, will worsen as the sea level rises,” the forecaster added.
But the Met Office also notes climate scientists “use long-running datasets that compare decades and centuries to assess the impact of human emissions on long-term weather” – so using the storm name list to assess the impact of change isn’t necessarily “statistically robust” as “the time period is far too short”.
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Could there be more storms on the way?
In short, possibly yes.
Although it’s too early to predict, the Met Office say “there remains a chance of further impactful weather as we move through meteorological winter and into spring”.
Looking ahead, Sky News meteorologist Steff Gaulter said after a very wet last few months, “many of us are now thoroughly sick of the rain”.
But she notes there “might be a change on the cards”.
“With El Nino in place in the Pacific, the end of our winters often have rather a cold theme,” she said.
“So there is the possibility that we may see some more cold, crisp conditions in the next couple of months.”
The Russian ambassador to the UK has been summoned by the Foreign Office following attacks on Kyiv overnight.
It comes after the British Council building in the Ukrainian capital suffered major damage in Russian strikes.
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Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed the government had summoned Andrey Kelin in response.
Mr Kelin was seen arriving at the Foreign Office building in Whitehall today.
Russian ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin arrives at the Foreign Office building in Whitehall
Mr Lammy posted on X: “Putin’s strikes last night killed civilians, destroyed homes and damaged buildings, including the British Council and EU Delegation in Kyiv.
“We have summoned the Russian Ambassador. The killing and destruction must stop.”
The British Council’s chief executive, Scott McDonald, said their guard for the building was injured but “stable”.
“At the insistence of my amazing colleagues, we will continue operations in Ukraine today wherever possible,” he said.
“Their resilience is awe-inspiring, and I am deeply thankful they are all safe.”
Earlier, Sir Keir Starmer said: “My thoughts are with all those affected by the senseless Russian strikes on Kyiv, which have damaged the British Council building.
“Putin is killing children and civilians, and sabotaging hopes of peace. This bloodshed must end.”
The British Council is an arms-length body from the government, and says its mission is to “support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide”.
It facilitates schemes like working, living and learning abroad for British people.
Most of its funding comes from the fees it charges people for its services, but it does also get funding from the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
As well as the attack on the British Council building, Russia also targeted the EU delegation building in the Ukrainian capital overnight.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, told reporters two missiles hit within 50 metres of the site in 20 seconds.
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Devastation in Kyiv after deadly Russian attack
And Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said the bloc was also summoning Russia’s ambassador following the strike.
“No diplomatic mission should ever be a target,” she said.
The attacks came as part of wider strikes on Kyiv, which destroyed homes and buildings and killed at least 15 people and injured 38, according to Ukrainian officials.
Russia has said it targeted military sites and air bases in its large overnight strike on Ukraine – and that it is still interested in negotiations to meet its aims.
“The special military operation continues,” he said, referring to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which it launched in February 2022.
“You see that strikes on Russian infrastructure facilities are also continuing, and often Russian civilian infrastructure is targeted by the Kyiv regime.”
He added: “At the same time, Russia will maintain its interest in continuing the negotiation process in order to achieve the goals we face through political and diplomatic means.”
Russia’s latest attack on Ukraine has been widely condemned, with Germany’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul saying there must be “consequences”.
“Last night we once again experienced in a terrible way how Russia attacked and bombed Kyiv, civilians died, children died, and the European Union delegation was also attacked,” he told reporters.
“And that cannot remain without consequences.”
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Mr Wadephul added that Germany wanted to show it was considering a further response and that any action would be taken jointly by the EU.
A Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office Spokesperson said: “The UK condemns in the strongest terms these outrageous attacks on Ukrainians and the damage done to the British Council and EU Delegation.
“Russia’s increasing attacks on Ukrainian civilians and cities, including Kyiv, are an escalation of the war and deeply irresponsible and are further sabotaging international peace efforts.
“We have made clear to the Russians that such actions will only harden UK and Western resolve to support Ukraine and bring an end to this unjustified war.
“Russia must stop this senseless killing and destruction immediately.”
A former Metropolitan Police volunteer has been found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting a child.
James Bubb, who now identifies as a woman named Gwyn Samuels, assaulted the victim multiple times when she was between the ages of 12 and 18.
Jurors were told Bubb, who identified as male at the time of the offences, would be referred to by their biological sex when allegations were being discussed throughout the trial.
Bubb met the victim on a video chat site in 2018, when he was around 21 and she was 12 years old. They then met in person for the first time at a Christian festival a few months later, the court was told.
The trial heard Bubb sexually assaulted the girl in public shortly before her 13th birthday, and that he was violent towards the girl when he raped her in her early teens.
Pic: Thames Valley Police
In relation to the complainant, Bubb was on Thursday found guilty of one count of raping a child under 13, one count of sexual activity with a child, one count of assault of a child under 13 by penetration, and one count of assault by penetration.
He was found not guilty of one count of rape and one count of sexual activity with a child in relation to that complainant, and found guilty of one count of rape against a second person.
The defendant made no expression as the verdicts were read out, but sobbed with their head in their hands after the foreman finished speaking.
Bubb, who is now 27, started training with the Met in 2020.
The first victim said the defendant spoke “a lot about the powers he had” in his role as a special constable.
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The second complainant was a woman Bubb met online while posing as a 16-year-old girl.
They met when the woman had just turned 18, and were in an on-off relationship between January 2018 and February 2023.
She said Bubb used “BDSM and kink as a way of creating control” over her, and that he would “use police training techniques” on her.
“The control, the power he got, it sure as hell wasn’t consensual,” she told police.
Bubb, of Chesham, Buckinghamshire, will be sentenced at a later date.
Prince Harry will return to the UK on the third anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death next month for a charity awards ceremony.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, will support the WellChild children’s charity on September 8.
Prince Harry, who lives in California with his wife, Meghan Markle, 44, is a long-standing patron of the charity.
The 2025 awards mark three years to the day that Queen Elizabeth II, the duke’s grandmother, died at her home in Balmoral, Aberdeenshire.
‘Their stories remind us of the power of compassion’
Harry said in a statement: “I am always privileged to attend the WellChild Awards and meet the incredible children, families and professionals who inspire us all with their strength and spirit.
“For 20 years, these awards have highlighted the courage of young people living with complex health needs and shone a light on the devoted caregivers – family and professionals – who support them every step of the way.
“Their stories remind us of the power of compassion, connection and community.”
Prince Harry lives in California with wife Meghan Markle. Pic: Yui Mok/Pool via REUTERS
Harry is set to make a speech, present an award to an “inspirational child” aged between four and six and meet and talk with seriously ill children and their families.
He has held the role of the charity’s patron for 17 years and has attended the awards 14 times before.
The charity describes itself as the national children’s charity “making it possible for children and young people with complex medical needs to thrive at home instead of hospital, wherever possible”.
Harry was last seen in the UK in May after losing a long-running battle with the Home Office over changes to his security arrangements.
The visit is likely to fuel speculation that he will meet with his father, the King, and estranged brother, Prince William.
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