Top forecasters from Colorado State University say they expect an “extremely active” hurricane season, predicting the highest number of storms since they began issuing predictions in 1995, USA Today Network reports. “
“We’re coming out with a very aggressive forecast: 23 named storms, 11 hurricanes and five major hurricanes,” says Phil Klotzbach, a senior research scientist in the atmospheric science department at Colorado State. “And even that is so undercutting all the model guidance.”
A typical year averages about 14 tropical storms, and seven spinning into hurricanes, based on weather records from 1991 to 2020.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasters do not release their seasonal outlook until May, but those forecasters are looking at the same worrisome models and temperatures as Klotzbach.
“Nothing surprises me anymore,” says Robbie Berg, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center.
Last year, when many forecasts called for a milder season, there were 20 named storms—six more than average and the fourth-most named storms on record.
