DUDLEY has been chosen as a storm name for the 2021-22 season, the Met Office has confirmed.

The name has been selected after more than 10,000 submissions were made by the UK public, it has been announced today (Wednesday September 1).

Rather than being named after the town or borough of Dudley though, it has in fact been named after a couple due to get married in 2022 who will share the last name of Dudley.

The name fought off competition from seven others beginning with D to top a poll on Twitter last week, which had more than 12,000 votes.

On finding out they and their big day were the inspiration for a storm name, they said: “We find it comical to name a storm for us getting married.”

The names, selected by national meteorological organisations the Met Office, Met Éireann and KNMI for the 2021-22 season which runs from this September to August 2022, reflect some of the more popular choices, as well as some of the heart-warming reasons behind the nominations.

The first storm to be named this year will be Arwen, a name thought to be of Welsh origin and popularised by Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books.

Will Lang, head of the National Severe Weather Warning Service at the Met Office, said: “This is now the seventh year of us naming storms with our European partners and we look forward to continuing to work together with them to raise awareness around the impacts of severe weather in order to help keep people from all nations safe.

“We’re all aware of some of the severe weather that has been witnessed across Europe and globally in recent months and we work to use any tool at our disposal to ensure the public is informed of potential risks, and naming storms is just one way we do that.

"We know naming storms helps raise awareness of the impacts of severe weather and ensures clarity for the public when they need it most.”

Storms will be named by the group when they’re deemed to cause ‘medium’ or ‘high’ impacts in the UK, Ireland or the Netherlands. In addition to strong winds, impacts from rain and snow will also be considered in the naming process.

Full list of names:

Arwen 

Barra 

Corrie 

Dudley 

Eunice 

Franklin 

Gladys 

Herman 

Imani 

Jack 

Kim 

Logan 

Méabh 

Nasim 

Olwen 

Pól 

Ruby 

Sean 

Tineke 

Vergil 

Willemien