Storm Agnes opens the 2023/24 storm season

Storm Agnes was the first named storm of the 2023/24 UK storm season, named by the Met Office on 25 September 2023 and affecting the UK and Ireland on 27 to 28 September 2023¹. The season ran from Agnes through to Storm Lilian on 22 August 2024 and saw 12 named storms, which the Met Office says was the greatest number of named storms since the first season in 2015¹.

The Met Office record lists the named storms and their dates of impact on the UK, Ireland or the Netherlands as follows¹:

The Met Office says Storm Babet in October 2023 brought very strong winds, gusting at over 58mph across northeast England and much of Scotland, but that the more significant impacts were from rainfall. Eastern Scotland saw exceptional rainfall, with 150 to 200mm falling in the wettest areas, and two red warnings for rain were issued¹. Storms Isha and Jocelyn, the ninth and tenth named storms of the season, arrived in quick succession in late January 2024. The Met Office says they were influenced by a powerful jet stream, intensified by a large temperature contrast across North America caused by a pool of cold air over Canada and the United States sinking south. Storm Isha brought widespread strong winds, particularly across the northern half of the UK, on 21 to 22 January 2024, with gusts of 69 to 81mph, including a gust of 99mph in Northumberland¹.

The Met Office also lists the names not used during the season: Minnie, Nicholas, Olga, Piet, Regina, Stuart, Tamiko, Vincent and Walid¹.

Why it matters for households

The season's record shows how often households can expect named storms to arrive between late September and late August, and that the main hazards were not only wind but rainfall: the Met Office attributes the more significant impacts of Storm Babet to rain, with 150 to 200mm in the wettest areas of eastern Scotland and two red warnings issued¹. Households in eastern Scotland, northeast England and the northern half of the UK were among those affected by the rainfall and winds described¹. The Met Office's storms and snow hub covers storm warnings and related disruption.

What happens next

The Met Office record gives no further dated steps beyond the end of the season with Storm Lilian on 22 August 2024¹.