Channel 4 weatherman blasts Met Éireann for naming ‘Storm Fionn’

"What next? Naming raindrops?"

Storm Fionn hit Ireland on Tuesday night bringing with it strong winds and multiple yellow weather warnings for wind and coastal flooding. But Met Éireann have come in for criticism from Channel 4 weather presenter Liam Dutton who called into question Met Eireann's criteria for naming storms. Writing on Twitter, Dutton said: "This is the problem with the storm naming system. The Irish Met Office, @MetEireann, have different (lower) criteria that are numerically driven, compared to the @metoffice’s impact-based criteria. How can something be a joint initiative when each use different criteria?!" He followed it up by saying: "#StormFionn that has been named by @MetEireann shouldn’t have been named. It needs no more than a standard weather warning. It’s not even a low pressure with a storm centre, just a squeeze in the isobars. What next? Naming raindrops? It’s ridiculous!" https://twitter.com/liamdutton/status/953250220464275458 However, Storm Fionn hit Ireland much harder than the UK bringing with it gusts of 137 km/h at Mace Head on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the national forecaster issued a status orange snow and ice warning for Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan, while a status yellow wind warning was also issued for Munster, Connacht and Leinster. There is an increased risk of flooding in coastal areas due to the combination of the high seas, strong winds and the low pressure.