Hurricane season is coming with more than usual

Turns out, Washington’s weather forecast isn’t the only one with predictions of hot air and high winds.

The weather forecasting pros at Colorado State University have now dashed hopes that after the devastating hurricane season of 2017, ocean storms would take a calming break this year. Nope.

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Meteorologist Phil Klotzbach and colleagues have a pretty good record of hurricane predictions. And they’re saying 14 named tropical storms, half of them becoming full-blown hurricanes (minimum winds of 74 mph). The average storm and hurricane occurrence is 12 and six.

Of those seven predicted hurricanes, they expect three to evolve into major hurricanes of Category 3, 4 or 5 containing  sustained wind speeds of 111 mph or above. The predictions also see a slightly above-average chance for major hurricanes to strike the U.S. coastline, a 63 percent chance, according to Klotzbach.

“We issue these forecasts,” a university statement said, “to satisfy the curiosity of the general public and to bring attention to the hurricane problem. There’s a general interest in knowing what the odds are for an active or inactive season.”

Insurance companies and governments also use the predictions to plan preparations for hurricane season, which generally runs from June 1 through November.

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CSU’s isn’t the only hurricane forecast, of course. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s forecast is due in May. AccuWeather’s recent prediction sees a dozen to 15 named storms with six to eight becoming hurricanes, four of which are likely to hit the U.S.

The National Hurricane Center does not categorize any transgender storms. So, it now alternates between male and female storm names, meaning this year’s Atlantic opener will be Alberto, then  Beryl, Chris, Debby and don’t forget our amigo Ernesto.

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