Extremely Active 2013 Hurricane Season Expected

May 23 -- A year after Superstorm Sandy, residents along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts should prepare for "an extremely active" 2013 hurricane season, U.S. forecasters say.

There is a "70 percent likelihood" that will be three to six major hurricanes this year with winds above 111 mph, according to the 2013 hurricane outlook unveiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center on Thursday.

During the six-month hurricane season, which begins June 1, forecasters anticipate 13 to 20 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher). Of those, seven to 11 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher).

Those ranges are above normal. According to the National Hurricane Center, the seasonal average is 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes. Hurricane season ends Nov. 30.

The dire forecast comes as many shoreline residents—particularly in New York and New Jersey—are still recovering from Sandy, which killed 147 people and caused more than $75 billion in damage in October 2012. It was the second-costliest hurricane in U.S. history.

The 2012 hurricane season produced 19 named storms, including 10 hurricanes and two major hurricanes—Sandy and Michael, a Category 3 storm that stayed over the open Atlantic. The number of named storms and hurricanes were above average, but the two major hurricanes was below the average of three.

Climate factors—including warmer-than-average water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean—contributed to 2013's active forecast, the NOAA said.

And homeowners should begin their storm preparations now.

"Take time to refresh your hurricane preparedness plan," Kathryn Sullivan, NOAA acting administrator, said during a news conference in College Park, Md., on Thursday. "Bottom line is become weather-ready now—that means starting today."

NOAA also unveiled plans for a new "supercomputer" that will run an "upgraded Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting models." That, combined with new Doppler technology from NOAA's"hurricane hunter" aircraft, is expected to improve forecast accuracy "by 10 to 15 percent," the NOAA said.

The seasonal hurricane outlook does not predict how many storms will hit land or where a storm will strike. For people living on the shorelines, Sullivan said, "this is your warning."

US Predicts Up To 7 Major Hurricanes in 2010

US PREDICTS UP TO SEVEN MAJOR HURRICANES IN 2010

MIAMI – May 27 -- The Atlantic hurricane season will likely be a busy one that may spawn as many as 23 named tropical storms, including up to seven major hurricanes, a number that's not likely to be affected by theGulf oil spill, the U.S. government said Thursday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that eight to 14 storms would strengthen into hurricanes, with top winds of 74 mph or higher. Three to seven of those could become major storms that reach Category 3 or higher — meaning they bring sustained winds of at least 111 mph.

"If this outlook holds true, this season could be one of the more active on record," NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco said in a statement. "The greater likelihood of storms brings an increased risk of a landfall. In short, we urge everyone to be prepared."

A hurricane might help break up the oil spill staining the Gulf of Mexico, but the oil won't affect significantly how tropical storms develop, forecasters said. They don't know what kind of environmental hazards to expect, though there are fears that winds and waves could push the oil deeper into estuaries and wetlands.

Government scientists said Thursday that anywhere from 500,000 gallons to a million gallons a day has been leaking from the site where an oil rig exploded April 20, killing 11 people. BP PLC, which leased the rig and is responsible for the cleanup, and the Coast Guard previously had estimated the flow was about 210,000 gallons per day.

The expanding slick already has coated wildlife and marshes in Louisiana, but Lubchenco said the spill is still small relative to hurricanes — which sometimes can span the entire Gulf.

Although some oil could be pushed inland by a storm as it makes landfall, it could be difficult to determine whether it leaked from flooded cars or factories, Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Craig Fugate said.

The 2010 government forecast is based on the weakening of El Nino. The Pacific Ocean phenomenon created strong wind shear that helped suppress storm development in the Atlantic last season. Record warm water temperatures also will feed storms crossing the Atlantic this year.

Three hurricanes developed out of nine tropical storms in 2009. None of the hurricanes came ashore in the United States. Hurricane Ida hit Nicaragua as a Category 1 storm in November.