Hurricane season could be less active than in 2008

mercedes · May 26, 2009

This year’s six-month Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1, looks to be slightly less active than last year’s, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s annual forecast.

NOAA predicts there will be nine to 14 named storms this year, that four to seven of them will be hurricanes, and that one to three of the hurricanes could become major, meaning sustained winds of at least 111 mph.

Last year there were 16 named storms, eight of them hurricanes and four of them major.

The agency released its outlook yesterday, saying there was a 50% probability that this season would be “near-normal."

The cruise lines and the many cruise ports that have been ravaged by major storms over the last decade are hoping the 25% chance that NOAA gave of having an “above-normal” season does not bear out.

NOAA forecast an equal chance of having a “below normal” season.

Last year the Caribbean was battered by storms like Hurricane Ike that put Galveston’s and Grand Turk’s cruise ports out of commission.

Unfortunately, NOAA can only do its best when it comes to predicting the hurricane season. As the agency noted, over the last few years, global weather patterns have had “greater uncertainty”.