The name's Idris, Storm Idris: Met Office includes Wire and Luther actor's name in list of winter storms

Henry Bodkin 12 September 2018 • 6:00am

Idris Elba's first name has appeared on a list of 21 which will be used to label the extreme weather events of the approaching winter

Whether it’s DJing at the royal wedding or being tipped to become the next James Bond, Idris Elba could be forgiven for occasionally thinking himself something of a god.

Now, in one sense at least, he is becoming just that and in all likelihood will assail the UK in the form of a Biblical gale at some point in the next 12 months.

While the British public or may not ever hear the actor utter the words “Bond, James Bond,” in anger, the Met Office has announced we may have to get used to the phrase “Idris, Storm Idris.”

That is because the celebrated actor’s first name has appeared on a list of 21 which will be used to label the extreme weather events of the approaching winter.

The list was selected by forecasters at the Met Office and Met Éireann, the Irish equivalent, following submissions from members of the public.

The first named storm of the season will be a “male”, Storm Ali, and the second a “female”, Storm Bronagh. These are from a crop that includes the names Callum, Deirdre, Kevin Violet and Tristan.

It is the fourth 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, and mimics the system used by the US National Hurricane Centre in the 1970s.

The selection of Idris follows a year in which the actor, famous for his roles in The Wire and Luther, directed his first film, became engaged to his girlfriend and stepped into the DJ booth at the afterparty of Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle.

The actor sparked fevered speculation that he had been offered the role of James Bond in August after he posted the cryptic tweet: "My name's Elba, Idris Elba".

However, he later sought to dampen speculation he would become the first black 007, and is currently second favourite behind Tom Hardy with most bookmakers.

Storm Emma helped bring severe wintry weather to much of the country in March Credit: i-Images/Stuart Walker

The new Met Office list is notable for its size, being more than double the length of that announced this time last year, since when there have been ten named events, starting with Storm Aileen which struck on September 12, and culminating in Storm Hector, which occured on June 13.

The system of naming what critics have described as “winter gales” has been controversial, particularly when whether that was not deemed severe was named and visa versa.

But Derrick Ryall, head of public weather services at the Met Office, said: "Naming storms has been proved to raise awareness of severe weather in the UK, providing a consistent message to the public and crucially prompting people to take action to prevent harm to themselves or to their property."

Polling has found almost 80% of people think giving storms a name was useful in making them aware the severe weather may have more impact than normal, while 63% believe it is useful in letting them know to take action.

Evelyn Cusack, head of forecasting at Met Eireann, said: "The last 12 months have seen some extreme weather around the globe as well as here at home. "While it is too early to say whether the coming winter will be a stormy one or a quiet one we are prepared with a whole new set of 21 names for whatever nature may throw at us.

"As before, Met Eireann forecasters will work in close co-operation with our colleagues from the Met Office in the UK to keep all the peoples of these islands warned of impending severe weather."