Researchers are predicting an "above-average" 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, with 19 named storms and nine hurricanes expected.
Of those nine hurricanes, four are expected to be major, according to the Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project.
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Dr. Philip Klotzbach, hurricane specialist at CSU, presented the forecast Thursday during the National Tropical Weather Conference.
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Klotzbach said the primary reason for the above-average forecast is based on a predicted lack of El Niño and a warmer-than-normal subtropical Atlantic Ocean.
The hurricane season begins June 1 and ends November 30.
An average hurricane season generally produces 14 named storms and seven hurricanes.
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The 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season was busy, with 21 named storms and seven hurricanes.
The first named storm once again came early in 2021, when Tropical Storm Ana formed about 10 days early, in May. The final storm of the season, Wanda, came in October.
The most destructive storm of 2021 was category 4 Hurricane Ida, which came ashore near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, on August 29. When Ida made landfall, maximum sustained winds were estimated around 150 mph.
Ida was the second-most-intense hurricane to strike Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Just a small number of storms made landfall in Florida in 2021. The first was Elsa, which became an 85 mph hurricane at its peak but made landfall in the Florida Panhandle as a weaker 65 mph tropical storm on July 8.
The 2020 season was record-breaking, with 30 named storms and 13 hurricanes, including six major hurricanes. It was only the second time the Greek alphabet was utilized to complete a season.
The U.S.’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is expected to release their forecast in May.
