Nine hurricanes predicted this year!

[inspic=31,right,,thumb]Can American afford another swirling season of natural destruction?

Forecasters at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins say the 2006 hurricane season will be "very active," producing five major storms between June 1 and November 30.

But the experts doubt that this summer's will be as spectacularly destructive as last year's.

They expect seventeen named tropical storms to form, nine of which are expected to develop into hurricanes. Of those nine, five will grow into at least Category 3, or major, hurricanes.

The CSU forecasters add that there's an 82 percent probability that one major hurricane will make landfall somewhere on the U.S. coast. That contrasts with an average likelihood of 52 percent.

The scientists also say that Florida and the East Coast are the most likely places to be hit by a hurricane, judging by the upper-level winds that steer the storms.

Other forecasts, including that of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, also predict an above-average hurricane seas.

The NOAA forecast, released earlier this month, predicts four to six major hurricanes forming from thirteen to sixteen named tropical storms.

On average, the hurricane season has about ten tropical storms, six hurricanes, and two major hurricanes.

Related Links:
William Gray's Hurricane Forecast (Colorado State University)
NOAA Predicts very active 2006