TUSCON, Arizona – Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted an average to above average Atlantic hurricane season, but a new model being promoted by one university disagrees with that forecast.
The University of Arizona says its model predicts there will only be four hurricanes this season, with only two reaching category three or higher. That would be considered a below average season.
NOAA, for their part, is calling for five to nine hurricanes with one to four becoming major storms.
Researchers at the University of Arizona are touting their forecast as accurate, citing last year’s prediction of 11 hurricanes and six major storms.
There ended up being 10 hurricanes and six major storms.
There has only been one named storm so far in 2018, Alberto, which did not form into a hurricane.