Does a storm cause more or less pain if it has a human name? | Stephen Moss

This year, the Met Office started naming extreme weather events to avoid confusion. But does calling a storm Desmond really help?

Abigail, Barney, Clodagh, Desmond and Eva. These may sound like the first few names on the register at a trendy north London primary school, as one comedian has suggested. But to the people of northern England, being battered by high winds, incessant rain and the resulting floods, the list is anything but amusing.

For these are the names of the first five storms to hit the UK since the Met Office decided earlier this year to adopt the US convention of naming extreme weather events. And now the sixth storm to hit the UK in rapid succession - Storm Frank - is causing untold misery to thousands of householders across a broad swath of Britain.