The Atlantic hurricane season 2018 is on the horizon and it may be just as bad as last year’s.
The season begins in
June and lasts through November, prompting Colorado State University to issue its preliminary seasonal forecast for the windy season on Thursday. University researchers said that the season will be slightly above-average, with at least 14 storms being given names so far.
At least seven of those 14 will be expected to become hurricanes and three are slated to be major hurricanes. The long-term average of the Atlantic hurricane season is 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes, but this season will still be milder than last year’s when there were 17, 10 and six, respectively.
The names for the 2018 storms are Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sara, Tony, Valerie and William. Of these named storms, the University predicts a 63% probability of at least one of the major hurricanes hitting U.S. territories, which is above the average number of 52%.
“Last season had near-record warm sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic,” said Dr. Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist at Colorado State University. He added that the warmth that hit last year was almost a record in terms of recorded Atlantic hurricane seasons, which led to the surge in activity in 2017, leading to the major hurricanes that hit.
