Office Is Asking the Public to Vote on Whether a Future Storm Should Be Named Shaun or Timmy, After Characters From the Animated TV Series

The winning name will be added to the official storm names list for the 2026/27 season, with the result announced on 1 September. The vote is a collaboration with Aardman, the Oscar-winning animation studio behind Shaun the Sheep, Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run. However, there is no guarantee a storm will actually be named Shaun or Timmy, as storms are named alphabetically each season.

The furthest the Met Office has ever reached is L, with Storm Lilian in August 2024. "Naming storms helps our weather warnings reach more people and encourages the public to take notice when severe weather is approaching, said Holly Clements, the Met Office's head of warnings and guidance. "This collaboration with Aardman gives us a fantastic opportunity to engage new audiences and explain why storm naming matters. Last year, more than 50,000 storm name suggestions were submitted for the 2025/26 season, with only 21 chosen.

Rejected names included Stormy McStormFace, Dame Judi Drench and David Blowy, while selected names included tributes to loved ones and pets such as Amy, Dave, Stevie and Violet. The Met Office has named storms since 2015, working with Ireland's Met Éireann and the Dutch national weather service KNMI. Amy Pearson, Aardman's director of brand marketing and PR, said: It's brilliant to be teaming up with the Met Office to give fans the chance to help choose a future storm name.

The studio, founded by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. The third Shaun the Sheep film, The Beast of Mossy Bottom, is due for release on 18 September. Aardman, which was founded by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, had its 50th anniversary this 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.