The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, already expected to be
more active than normal, could be worse than previously forecasted, according
to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
It could be the most active since the 2010 season, which
produced 19 tropical storms of which 12 became hurricanes, NOAA said.
NOAA has revised its May forecast from 11 to 17 named storms
to 14 to 19 named storms, with five to nine anticipated hurricanes, up from
four originally forecasted.
Hurricane Franklin currently is dissipating over interior
Mexico after making landfall near Veracruz as a Category 1 hurricane Thursday
morning.
There have been six named storms in the Atlantic thus far
this season, double the amount that normally would be seen by this point.
Winds in the tropics and warmer-than-expected tropical
waters are ideal for hurricane formation this year, according to NOAA.
The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season runs from
mid-August through late October.