UK Met Office turns to ‘Shaun the Sheep’ for future storm name

The UK Met Office is asking the public to choose whether Shaun the Sheep or his cousin Timmy the lamb should lend their names to a future storm.

The unusual public vote is being held in collaboration with Aardman, the Oscar-winning animation studio behind Shaun the Sheep, Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run.

The winning name will be added to the official storm names list for the 2026/27 season, with the result due to be announced on September 1.

The two options are Shaun and Timmy, characters from the popular animated series set on Mossy Bottom Farm. However, there is no guarantee that either name will actually be used for a storm during the season, as storms are named alphabetically.

The furthest the UK Met Office has progressed through the alphabet in a single season is the letter L, with Storm Lilian in August 2024.

Holly Clements, the Met Office’s head of warnings and guidance, said naming storms helps weather warnings reach more people and encourages the public to take severe weather threats seriously.

The initiative comes after more than 50,000 suggestions were submitted by the public for the 2025/26 storm-naming season.

Among the suggestions that failed to make the final list were humorous names such as Stormy McStormFace, Dame Judi Drench and David Blowy. The final list contained 21 names, including Amy, Dave, Stevie and Violet, some of which were submitted as tributes to loved ones and pets.