Meteorological agency KNMI has paid tribute to former astronaut Wubbo Ockels in its list of prospective storm names for the 2025/26 season.

The British, Dutch and Irish weather bureaus have published a joint list of names for storms every year since 2019, with each agency supplying seven that are used alternately, in alphabetical order.

As the last of the 21 names on the list (the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z are omitted because too few names begin with them), Wubbo would only come into play in an exceptionally tempestuous year.

Wubbo Ockels was the first Dutch citizen to go into space when he spent seven days on board Challenger in 1985. He died of cancer in 2014 at the age of 68.

Other Dutch names on the list for the new storm season are Chandra, Eddie, Hannah, Janna, Lilith and Nico.

In the 2024/25 year six storms were named by the western group of European nations, the last being Storm Floris in August, nominated by the KNMI. Names are also borrowed from other parts of Europe, such as the Mediterranean and Scandinavia, for storms that originate there.

More than 50,000 names were proposed to the three meteorological agencies for this season’s storms.

The first major windstorm – defined as strong enough for one of the agencies to issue an amber warning – will be named Storm Amy, while Dave was nominated by a woman who said she was inspired by “my beloved husband who can snore three times louder than any storm”.