NOAA Predicts Busy Atlantic Hurricane Season

Unseasonably warm ocean temperatures and a no-show from El Niño will contribute to what may be the busiest Atlantic hurricane season in seven years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced on Wednesday.

NOAA estimates the ocean will see 14 to 19 named tropical systems this year, up from the 11-17 they had predicted in a previous outlook released in May.

"The season has the potential to be extremely active, and could be the most active since 2010," NOAA said on Wednesday.

 

The 2017 hurricane season officially began June 1 and ends November 30.

Though NOAA's outlook still calls for 5 to 9 hurricanes, the latest update increases the number of likely major hurricanes by one, to 5.

Hurricane Franklin, located in the southern Gulf of Mexico's Bay of Campeche, is the season's first hurricane and will move into Mexico early on

Thursday.

Click here to track Franklin

NOAA's upgraded outlook agrees with last week's update from Colorado State University.

CSU predicts 16 named storms -- including the five that have already occurred -- with eight becoming hurricanes and three reaching major hurricane status (winds above 111 mph).