NOAA says it expects ‘near normal’ hurricane season this year

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association said Friday that it expects a “near normal Atlantic hurricane season” this year, with about 10 to 16 named storms, including four to eight official hurricanes.

The agency said it predicts 10 to 16 storms will receive names, for which only storms with winds greater than 39 miles per hour qualify. The season’s storm count includes room for four to eight hurricanes, which have winds above 74 miles per hour. And one to four of those may be major hurricanes, which are defined as Category 3, 4, or 5 hurricanes that have winds over 110 miles per hour.

But that prediction is only about 70 percent likely, the agency said. Factors like El Niño and La Niña could affect how many storms (and hurricanes) actually materialize.

One storm is already included in the agency’s forecast: Hurricane Alex, which appeared over the far eastern Atlantic at the beginning of the year.

Hurricane season lasts from June 1 to November 30, and has averaged 12 named storms in the past, including six hurricanes and three “major” hurricanes, according to the Associated Press.

The names for this year’s storms are: Alex, Bonnie, Colin, Danielle, Earl, Fiona, Gaston, Hermine, Ian, Julia, Karl, Lisa, Matthew, Nicole, Otto, Paula, Richard, Shary, Tobias, Virginie and Walter.

This story was originally published May 27, 2016 at 12:08 PM with the headline "NOAA says it expects ‘near normal’ hurricane season this year."