MIAMI — Top federal weather forecasters on Thursday warned of an active upcoming Atlantic hurricane season.
Their prediction calls for considerable activity. Twelve to 16 named storms are likely, including six to nine hurricanes, as many as five of which could be intensely powerful. An average season has 11 named storms, including six hurricanes, two of which reach major status.
Gerry Bell, the lead Atlantic hurricane forecaster for NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, and others announced their outlook at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., backed by hurricane hunter aircraft that fly into storms and record data.
Last year, there were 15 named storms and six hurricanes, two of which were major. That year, the government predicted 13 to 17 named storms, seven to 10 hurricanes and three to five major hurricanes.
The early forecast is similar to what scientists William Gray and Philip Klotzbach of Colorado State University presented last week. Their predictions also called for an above-average season.
Gray has said his team’s full-season predictions have been wrong the past three years.
