The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season could be above normal, according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.
Forecasters said there could be between 11 and 17 named storms, five to nine hurricanes and two to four major hurricanes.
“The outlook reflects our expectation of a weak or non-existent El Nino, near- or above-average sea-surface temperatures across the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, and average or weaker-than-average vertical wind shear in that same region,” NOAA Climate Prediction Center forecaster Gerry Bell, Ph.D., said in a release.
Last year 5 storms that hit land, including Matthew, caused $10 billion in damage and killed 34 people in the U.S. and 551 in the Caribbean, NOAA said.
The six-month Atlantic storm season officially starts June 1. A rare April tropical storm formed this year over the open ocean.
National Weather Service Deputy Director Mary Erickson says high-resolution hurricane model upgrades should provide "much improved" forecast guidance this year.
Friedman says a new weather satellite will help forecasters see developing storms in greater detail.
Information from the Associated Press supplemented this report.
Atlantic #HurricaneSeason 2017: Could be comparable to 2016, most active season since 2012 w/ 5 landfalling storms https://t.co/n3E0gWftKtpic.twitter.com/H3giJkSlC3
— NOAA (@NOAA) May 25, 2017
