Editor’s note

While the big news this week is about the impact of a powerful storm elsewhere in the world, in the UK we have just experienced the first major storm of the season. Storm Aileen, as it is named, battered parts of the country with high winds and heavy downpours. Thousands of homes were left without power, trees fell and roads were blocked. Naming storms is a relatively new thing in the UK – the first storm to be named here was Abigail in November 2015. Although it might seem silly to give storms names, there is a serious reason for it; the idea is to raise awareness of severe weather events with the aim of making sure that people are prepared for them. Hopefully this will help prevent people and property from being badly affected. There are 21 storm names for 2017–2018. They are in alphabetical order (names beginning with Q,U, X, Y and Z are not included) and alternate between male and female names. The next big storm will be named Brian. If you could create a list of storm names, what would you call them? Tell us at hello@theweekjunior.co.uk