You can’t beat indomitable baby boomer generation. The folks who walked uphill to school (both ways), survived on dripping sandwiches, and, apparently, lived through a golden age when the weather was just weather. No names, no warnings, no fuss, they just got on with it. Last week, these stalwart citizens faced an entirely modern affront to their meteorological memory: the UK’s named weather warnings.

Wednesday Warning

On Wednesday, meteorologists issued alerts for Storm Bert. They said it was set to bring transient snow, heavy rainfall and high winds across the country. The nation braced itself, but some sections of society seemed rather less than impressed.

“Back in my day, we didn’t have all this naming nonsense!” declared Frank, 71, from his favourite nylon armchair, now permanently moulded to his form. “It was just rain, and you got on with it. They’re all soft now.” Arthur’s wife, Doris, agreed, reminiscing about a time when storms were stoic and silent, not thrusting themselves into the limelight with these silly modern names.

Bursting Banks

But by Sunday, as rivers burst their banks and homeowners frantically tried to source sandbags, a curious twist emerged. The very same generation who dismissed the weather warnings as unnecessary theatrics, suddenly developed an acute case of collective amnesia.

“I didn’t know it was going to flood! Nobody told us,” wailed Mad Ron, 73, ankle-deep in his conservatory-turned jacuzzi. “Why don’t they warn people properly anymore? We used to have the Met Office, you know…so much for global warming eh, eh, eh, eh?” This sentiment echoed across social media groups, punctuated by dramatic photos of soggy allotments and floating patio furniture.

Delicious Irony

The irony is as delicious as the avocado toast the boomers still blame millennials for eating. A generation that prides itself on “toughing it out” now insists they were left tragically uninformed about what meteorologists had, in fact, spent days screaming from the rooftops.

Critics of boomers might point out that named storms are, well, kind of important. Names help people remember and take warnings seriously—though clearly not everyone got that memo. Meanwhile, the phrase “named storms” seems to trigger some kind of primal indignation in certain boomers, who see it as part of a larger conspiracy to make people afraid of life’s natural hardships.

Nanny State

“It’s the nanny state,” said Sheila, 73, while wringing out her carpet. “First they tell us not to go outside because of the wind, now they expect us to know it’s going to flood because of some storm named Bert or something. Whatever happened to personal responsibility?”

When asked if she checked the weather warnings midweek, Sheila waved the suggestion away. “I don’t need no bloody Met Office to tell me the weather. I’ve got knees that ache when it’s going to rain. Been accurate for fifty years!”

No Warnings

Meanwhile, as emergency services worked tirelessly to rescue stranded residents, another curious refrain emerged. “Why didn’t they send someone door-to-door to warn us?” questioned Donald, 69, seemingly forgetting that his door is now only accessible via canoe.

The flood of complaints (pun intended) illustrates a fascinating contradiction. On one hand, boomers bemoan the supposed overreach of modern weather services. On the other, they long for a simpler time when the local copper might have popped round to mention that a river was about to invade their bungalow.

Reconciling the Old Days

In the end, perhaps this storm isn’t really about the weather at all. It’s about change, nostalgia, and the eternal human struggle to reconcile “the good old days” with the undeniable march of progress. Sure, we didn’t name storms back then—but we also didn’t have Twitter to argue about it.

So next time the Met Office warns of Storm Bert, spare a thought for your boomer neighbours. They’ll be dismissing it as overblown on Wednesday, ignoring the rain on Friday, and claiming no one told them on Sunday. It’s a cycle as predictable as, well, the weather.