Storm Regina named after Cardiff woman who predicts floods

Regina Simmons' name is one of 21 which will be used for storms in the 2023/24 season

A woman who has had a storm named after her says she hopes it will never have to be used.

Regina Simmons, from Cardiff, works for the warning and informing team at Natural Resources Wales.

Her name is one of 21 which will be used for storms in the 2023-24 season.

The names are selected by the Met Office along with Met Eireann in Ireland and the Dutch weather service KNMI.

Names are used when storms are expected to have a "medium" or "high" impact in the UK, Ireland or the Netherlands.

This year's suggestions include names of people who work to protect the public in times of severe weather.

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Ms Simmons' first name made the list thanks to her work to predict river and coastal flooding.

"When you name something it makes it more personal," she said.

"You can look up the details of the storm and use the information to see how it might impact you and gives you time to plan."

It's the ninth year storms have been officially named.

Will Lang, head of situational awareness for the Met Office, said: "We do it because it works.

"Naming storms helps to ease communication of severe weather and provides clarity when people could be impacted."

"It's great to be able to recognise the collaborative efforts of some of our partners across the UK."

Other names include Storm Debi, which will be named after Debi Garft, who recently retired as senior policy officer in the Scottish government's flooding team.

Met Éireann's submissions are inspired by famous scientists, including Jocelyn after Dame Jocelyn Bell, a famous astrophysicist.

Names from KNMI are often of Dutch origin and many were submitted by public visitors to the forecaster throughout the year.

Another name on the list, Minnie, was inspired by Minnie the Minx from the Beano comic, after the inclusion of Storm Dennis in 2020.

Ms Simmons said the potential of being the name of a future storm is "something to be very proud of".

"But I hope we never get to that stage of the alphabet in terms of storms," she added.

"But it's a lovely thing to happen."