LONDON -- Storms with names are something of a novelty in Britain and Ireland at the moment.
First we had Abigail, which spawned a run of "a big gale" jokes on Twitter, and now we have the even more memorably-named "Storm Barney", which is set to sweep across England, Wales and Ireland in the form of 60-70mph winds on Tuesday evening. The Environment Agency have even issued a warning to people not to take "storm selfies".
But the thing is, not everyone's taking Barney seriously.
Parts of the UK are set to be hit by #StormBarney tomorrow... pic.twitter.com/ZLOu5CsTwF— Michael Pattinson (@MikePattinson) November 16, 2015
Yep, that's right; just like Abigail, Britain's second official storm has fallen victim to a tirade of name-based mockery on Twitter. And the vast majority of it, as you might expect, centres around the chuckling purple blob that is Barney the Dinosaur.
The Met office has named its 2nd bit of windy UK weather. It's 'Storm Barney', apparently. #StormBarney pic.twitter.com/t6HNZmfclj— Michael Gray (@GrayInGlasgow) November 16, 2015
#StormBarney has arrived - https://t.co/wpsa7VwYPE pic.twitter.com/PUxaxTrhnz— SPIN 1038 (@spin1038) November 17, 2015
#StormBarney is here... be safe! pic.twitter.com/auYbE462Uv— iRadio (@ThisisiRadio) November 17, 2015
Barney getting ready to brew up a storm #StormBarney pic.twitter.com/vRTmpRAtA3— Kim (@kimnffckim) November 16, 2015
The threat of storm Barney is a pretty scary one!! Stay safe people #StormBarney pic.twitter.com/elrLKWHcgK— Rich Hayward (@Rich_Hayward) November 16, 2015
In fact the main thing that the #StormBarney hashtag has reminded us of is just how damn creepy Barney the Dinosaur actually was.
Seriously, look at him.
Here's the bloody culprit that's causing the crazy weather outside today #StormBarney .Always hated him pic.twitter.com/U2mlhz5B6X— #GreatFoodCork (@GreatFoodCork) November 17, 2015
Even Dublin Fire Brigade got in on the action.
Don't use any naked flames for light other than candles. Look after your wheelie bins #StormBarney will attack them. pic.twitter.com/wxkzE2FReO— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) November 17, 2015
Meanwhile, other people decided to branch the joke out.
Pick your fave #StormBarney mascot pic.twitter.com/q4k5cbcEES— Josh Barrie (@joshbythesea) November 16, 2015
We don't know about you, but if we had to pick a storm mascot we'd go with Barney Stinson any day of the week (with Barney Gumble a close second).