After 10,000 suggestions, the new list of names for the 2021/22 storm season has been chosen by the Met Office and include names from a self-confessed weather watcher, a “quick-as-lightning” goalkeeper, and a daughter who “leaves a trail of destruction”.
The names will be given to the strongest weather systems to hit the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands over the coming year – with the first storm running from September 2021 to the end of August 2022.
This first storm will be called Arwen, a Welsh name popularised by a character from the Lord Of The Rings Books.
The names were drawn from more than 10,000 suggestions submitted to the Met Office for the strongest weather systems to hit the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands over the coming year.
A stormy night in Manchester // Facebook
Kim, Logan, Ruby and Dudley are also on the list selected by the Met Office, along with Met Eireann and Dutch national weather forecasting service the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI).
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A Met Office spokesman said Kim was nominated in recognition of a “whirlwind” relative and a self-confessed weather watcher, while Logan was nominated by several parents and grandparents, with one particular Logan being described as a “tornado”.
Ruby, on the other hand, is the name of a cat who “acts like a violent storm” when she enters the house.
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Dudley turned out to be the most popular name nominated beginning with D thanks to a Twitter poll by a couple who get married in 2022 and will share the surname Dudley.
Other names on the list – which does not use names beginning with Q, U, X, Y or Z – include Barra, Corrie, Eunice, Franklin, Gladys, Herman, Imani, Jack, Meabh, Nasim, Olwen, Pol, Sean, Tineke, Vergil and Willemien.
The first day of meteorological #autumn will begin in a similar vein to how #summer ended 🍂
Most of us will wake up on #Wednesday morning to grey skies. It will also be damp in places with some drizzly showers 🌧️
Since Name our Storms first launched in 2015, the Met Office has issued a new list of names each September. The list runs from early September to late August the following year. This coincides with the start of autumn when the likelihood of low pressure systems and the potential for named storms increase.
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The naming of storms using a single authoritative system aids the communication of approaching severe weather through media partners and other government agencies. In other words, they’re easier to remember and thus remind people to stay safe.
Will Lang, head of the National Severe Weather Warning Service at the Met Office, said: “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.”
The autumn/winter storm names have been announced by the Met Office.
Names have been suggested by the public with some reasons behind them. Logan for example ‘runs through the house like a tornado’ according to his grandparents 🌪.https://t.co/BlIE3fqcaapic.twitter.com/iKrKosQKGd
NASA reveals exact time you can see ‘Santa’s sleigh’ fly over Greater Manchester this Christmas
Emily Sergeant
There’s not long left until Santa and his reindeer crew fly over the skies of Manchester to drop off all those presents.
And it seems like Manchester must have been extra nice this year, as Santa is treating us to lots of chances to catch a glimpse of him on his mission to deliver millions of gifts in time for Christmas.
Just like every year, Santa is dusting off his sleigh and polishing his boots to prepare for his biggest night visiting lots of kids and families. The sleigh is being filled with lots of goodies and surprises as we speak… it’s almost like he can smell the milk and cookies from here.
NASA, one of the world’s leading space companies, has been working meticulously to find out Santa’s route for 2025.
The world-renowned space agency has given us an exact time to look up at the stars to spot the main man himself and catch the glimmer of lights from his sleigh.
NASA has reveals the exact time you can see ‘Santa’s sleigh’ flying over Greater Manchester this Christmas / Credit: Tim Mossholder (via Unsplash)
As a man who has lots of experience globe trotting, it’s safe to say the big man knows how to efficiently cover as many houses as possible all in one night.
Santa’s sleigh will, coincidentally (*wink wink), be present at the same time as the International Space Station (ISS), however anyone looking to see this festive vehicle can notice the lights won’t change direction and will not flash.
This time round, Santa is swooshing round Greater Manchester on Christmas Day a whole hour earlier than last year, meaning that nice list must be the longest it’s ever been.
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Wednesday 24 December
5:21am
Santa’s sleigh lights will be visible for two minutes travelling South East to East, as the man of Christmas weighs up his North West delivery route.
6:54am
There’s a six minute opportunity to catch those bright lights of Santa’s sleigh in the Manchester sky as he travels from West to South East, finalising his map before the big night ahead.
Thursday 25 December
4:35am
It will be visible for less than a minute, no movement, in a static position. Santa will be doing a headcount of all the houses to make sure he’s not missed a single chimney.
6:08am
The sleigh will be seen for four minutes, moving from South West to South East, by now Santa will have finished his Manchester delivery drop and will be heading on over the hill to our friends in Leeds.
Salford City FC reveal new club crest ahead of return to orange kit
Danny Jones
Salford City FC have finally revealed their new club crest, paying homage to both their historic and present badge, as they prepare to wear predominantly orange kits once again.
The Greater Manchester club are enjoying a healthy injection not only of investment but ideas and, indeed, a decent bit of form in turn.
Currently sitting sixth in the League Two standings and looking more than capable of scrapping with other third division hopefuls around them in the table, the end of this season could be the start of a fresh chapter for the Salford sporting institution.
Regardless of whether they go up following the conclusion of this campaign or not, the newly restructured ownership group is certainly looking to make this the start of a new era.
Officially debuting the new Salford City badge in the teaser video shared above on Tuesday, 23 December, you could call it an early Christmas gift for Ammies supporters.
Writing on social media, the club said: “Our heritage. Our culture. Inspiring our future. From next season, Salford City FC will adopt a bold new identity, playing in orange with a new Club crest.
“Following recent consultations, 72% of fans voted to adopt this new Club crest from the start of the 2026-27 season.”
A lengthier statement continues: “The new Crest comes after extensive consultation with fans over the past several months.
“It was designed in conjunction with renowned NYC-based agency MILK, and in recent weeks, fans have heard from co-owners Gary Neville and Sir David Beckham about the potential opportunities the new crest can offer the Club – from building our fan base globally to exciting new merchandise products.
This latest unveiling comes after confirmation of the club reverting to an orange-led colour scheme and home shirt.
In addition to hinting at plans to once again upgrade the Peninsula Stadium, the official club statement also digs into the inspiration behind the various features included in the latest redesign.
They are as follows:
A rampant Lion that has featured on crests of the past, breaking out of the badge, refusing to be contained. It captures the fierce, on-field attitude expected from a Salford team. Relentless in the pursuit of success, never held back.
A new Salford rose, inspired by the iconic Salford Lads Club, symbolises enthusiasm, desire, passion and admiration.
Concentric circles represent a bird’s eye view of the Salford Gasworks.
A typeface crafted from the custom lettering found in Salford’s streets.
You see a more detailed breakdown of the thought process behind the various features down below; it does make for an interesting little read.
Credit: Salford City (via club website)
Salford famously switched to red when Manchester United’s ‘Class of 92’ legends bought the club in partnership with businessman Peter Lim well over a decade ago.
Despite the initial takeover seeing the struggling side find their way back into the EFL following multiple promotions, The Ammies have lost momentum in recent years, and many die-hard matchgoers still take issue with the colour change (the notion being that they were reborn in the shadow of Man United).
Fast forward to now, and they reiterated that the plans – which follow the aforementioned official consultation held earlier this year – will see new insignia installed in time for next season, not only on the latest batch of kits but around their soon-to-be further renovated home ground.
With Salford‘s rugby league community also set for its next iteration as of the 2026 season, it’s all change in Greater Manchester’s second city.