Met Éireann and the UK Met Office have revealed the list of storm names for the coming season.

First introduced in 2015, this is the fourth year that Met Éireann have jointly run the 'Name our Storms' scheme.

It is aimed at raising awareness of severe weather before it hits.

Evelyn Cusack, head of forecasting at Met Éireann, 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 new set of 21 names for whatever nature may throw at us.

"Met Éireann is delighted to continue working with colleagues from the UK Met Office to warn of impending severe weather."

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

Source: Met Éireann

This year the first storm will be 'male' and named Ali, while the second storm will be 'female' named Bronagh.

Other storm names on the list include Deirdre, Niamh and Saoirse.

This follows an alternating male/female pattern, established by the US National Hurricane Center in the 1970s.

A storm will be named for weather systems which are expected to warrant an orange or red wind warning issued by Met Éireann and/or the Met Office.

This season's names have again been compiled from a list of suggestions submitted by the public, choosing some of the most popular names but also selecting names that reflect the culture and diversity of Ireland and Britain.

As in previous years, Q, U, X, Y and Z will not be used to comply with international storm naming conventions.