For many in the UK Storm Benjamin will probably end up bringing nothing more than a typical autumnal wet and windy day.
Impacts would not have been severe enough for the Met Office to name this weather system.
However, large parts of northern and western France will experience strong winds with gusts widely up to 50-65mph (80-105km/h) and 80mph (130km/h) on some coastal areas.
Because this is likely to bring impacts with some damage and travel disruption, Météo France – the equivalent of the Met Office in France – took the decision to name this Storm Benjamin.
Orange warnings have been issued for seven areas along the Atlantic coast and English Channel.
Strong winds will also bring the possibility of some damage and disruption to Belgium and the Netherlands later on Thursday with gusts of wind up to 80mph (129km/h), especially near the coast.
Once a meteorological agency takes the decision to name a storm, there is agreement that all nations use the same name to allow consistency and clearer communication of the impacts.
So, while impacts in the UK will be relatively minor with yellow warnings, the wet and windy weather is still associated with Storm Benjamin.
Benjamin will not replace Bram in the list of UK’s named storms. So we can still expect the next weather event deemed serious enough to be named by either the Met office, Met Eirean in Ireland or KNMI in the Netherlands to be Bram.
