Colorado State University’s meteorology department has updated this year’s hurricane season forecast, and it calls for an above-normal chance of a named storm or hurricane coming within 50 miles of North Carolina – about 15 % higher than normal.
The updated forecast includes an 11% chance of a major hurricane impacting ENC – that’s about 4% higher than average.
A well-above normal number of named storms are expected over the season, at 25; more hurricanes than usual; and double the usual number of major hurricanes.
Some of the factors that led to the unusually high forecast from Colorado State, NC State, and NOAA include record high sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic, a La Nina pattern expected to develop during the peak of hurricane season, and an active West African Monsoon
