BLUEMOMENT

So they called the first named wind "Abigail" ("A big gale" - geddit?). They would probably appreciate suggestions for the next - a boy's name starting with "B".

"B*gger"
As in "Come here ya wee b*gger"

Donald

Barney has a certain resonance if you happen to be on the water to experience it but I'm struggling to make a similar connection with Clodagh.

Clodagh Rogers.
Fragrant Irish singer from the days when we didn't grunt when tying our shoe laces.
Rogers a boys name and we have all been rogered a few times by big winds.

Seriously - I head shake at the thought that we now need to go adding names to big winds - i sort of accept it with hurricanes but 70/80 knot breezes?

I guess naming weather systems makes it all bit more dramatic for the media, people will now go into panic at the named winds and start buying 8 x 4 boards with buckets of nails and big hammers, box's of duck tape, shops will sell out of candles at the mere mention of a name, tins of soup and frey Bentos pies with flood the shelfs of our local store's.

Gone are the day's when we would look at a forecast and think "I better go and tie another stone to the caravan"

There's an interesting comment on TOP to the effect that some insurance companies reduce their cover once a weather event gets named and becomes a hurricane. Certainly something to keep an eye on (geddit?) over here.