Coastal Engineer Dano Roelvink and Emeritus Professor at IHE Delft has been included on the new KNMI storm names list for the 2026-2027 season.
His name now sits among the storms he spent forty years studying: how they form, how waves and sandy coasts respond, and how that knowledge can help protect coastal areas more effectively.
Roelvink retired from IHE Delft in May 2026, where he was a Professor of Coastal Engineering and Port Development.
The name Dano was put forward earlier this year by people from several institutes in the Netherlands. They highlighted his major contribution to coastal research,particularly the development of globally leading models for storm surges, waves and the behaviour of sandy coasts.
His work left a legacy of ‘living shores’: an approach that prioritises the protection and resilience of dynamic, natural coastal systems. In 2022, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System (CSDMS).
He reshaped approaches to coastal management, pioneering coastal modelling. Many of the models he developed in the early years of computer modelling are still used today. For colleagues, his inclusion on the storm names list underlines the lasting significance of his work. He pioneered models that are still used worldwide to better understand and predict the impacts of extreme weather along the coast.
KNMI compiles the annual storm names list together with the UK Met Office and the Irish meteorological service Met Éireann. From all the names submitted, Dano was selected as the name for the fourth storm of the coming storm season, which means Storm Dano is likely to make landfall in the Netherlands, UK and Ireland this autumn or winter.
IHE Delft is the world’s largest graduate water education facility. Since 1957, the Institute has taught over 25,000 water professionals from 190 nations through its comprehensive education and training programmes spanning all facets of water-related disciplines. The Institute is a category 2 UNESCO Centre.
