Cooking up a storm

When the Met Office asked for ideas for names for notable storms, it might have run a risk. Everyone might have suggested Stormy Mcstormface. It wouldn’t have mattered, as the weather men simply chose the names they fancied from thousands sent it. Anyway, the names are used alphabetically. This year we didn’t even reach Iona, who sounds a nice, well-bred storm, though names can be deceptive, as Hurricane Florence has shown in sending a million in South Carolina fleeing. And as British storms find names in the first half of the alphabet, Stormy Mcstormface would never have his day. For 2018-19, the first storm will be Ali – the son-in-law of the prophet Mohammed. No doubt the name is meant affectionately. It is to be hoped that the Shia followers of Ali will be pleased by the choice.