Aiden will be the first storm to blow in across the UK and Ireland this winter, the new list of names for this year's strongest weather systems shows.

Also on the list of storm names for 2020/2021 announced by the Met Office and Met Eireann are Bella, Christoph and Darcy, while a particularly stormy winter could see storms Saidhbhin, Tobias, Vince and Wilson batter the UK and Ireland.

It is the sixth year that the Met Office and Met Eireann have run the Name our Storms scheme, which aims to raise awareness of severe weather before it hits.

The season's names have been compiled from a list of submissions by the public, choosing some of the most popular names and also selecting those which reflect the nations, culture and diversity of the UK and Ireland.

This year the first storm gets a male name Aiden, followed by an alternating pattern of male and female names which was established by the US National Hurricane Centre in the 1970s.

The alphabetical list of names skips Q, U, X, Y and Z to comply with international storm-naming conventions.

Will Lang, head of the National Severe Weather Warning Service at the Met Office, said: “We are now entering our sixth year of the Name our Storms campaign and we look forward to working closely with our colleagues in Ireland and the Netherlands once again, continuing to raise awareness of the potential impacts of severe weather in order to keep people across our nations safe.

“The impacts from Storm Ciara and Dennis earlier this year are still fresh in many people's minds and although it’s too early to anticipate what weather this autumn and winter will bring, we are prepared with a new list of names to help raise awareness of severe weather before it hits.”

Evelyn Cusack, head of forecasting at Met Éireann, said: “This summer has closed with Storms Ellen and Francis bringing wet and windy weather to our shores. As we begin the new storm season for 2020-21, Met Éireann forecasters look forward to working in close co-operation with our colleagues in the UK and Netherlands by continuing to provide a clear and consistent message to the public, encouraging people to take action to prevent harm to themselves or to their property at times of severe weather.”

The full list of names for 2020/21 is, Aiden, Bella, Christoph, Darcy, Evert, Fleur, Gavin, Heulwen, Ian, Julia, Klaas, Lilah, Minnie, Naia, Oscar, Phoebe, Ravi, Saidhbhin, Tobias, Vince and Wilson.