A prominent forecast predicts that 11 storms, including 7 hurricanes, will form over the Atlantic ocean this year. Professor Juliann Ross of the National Meteorological Center has been predicting the number and intensity of hurricane season storms for a dozen years. his latest report is an update on an earlier forecast where he predicted a below-average season with eight storm, five of them hurricanes.
The average season, which lasts from June until November, usually sees 10 storms, 6 of which are hurricanes. Although not always on target, the Professor's predictions are more accurate than most. Last year he predicted 18 storms, with 10 hurricanes, including two major ones. There were in fact 18 storm, but 14 of these were hurricanes and 4 of them were major. It was one of the busiest hurricanes seasons on record. Forty-five people lost their lives, and damages in the southern Atlantic states was estimated in the billions of dollars.