The Met Office has announced a new naming convention for storms, after experts ran out of common names, and then words in the English dictionary last week.
A spokesman admitted, "We have cycled through three 'tropical storm Ruth's over the last 6 weeks. Even the most experienced forecasters are becoming disoriented".
The new algorithm has been described as 'throwing a bag of Scrabble tiles in the air, then taking the first handful to hit the deck'.
There have already been complaints that the first two storms due this week, sound like a Welshman with a heavy cold muttering an epithet, and a tractor grinding its gears respectively. Advocates point out that this will make it easier for Somerset farmers to discuss the weather both fluently and accurately.
