Experts predict active hurricane season

FORT COLLINS, Colo., April 7 (UPI) -- Colorado State University experts say the 2010 hurricane season will be an active one, with elevated sea surface temperatures and a weakening El Nino condition.

The university's Tropical Meteorology Project is forecasting 15 named tropical storms, and says eight will become hurricanes with sustained wind speeds above 74 mph, the university announced Wednesday.

Four of those are predicted to become Category 3, 4 or 5 major hurricanes with maximum wind speeds of 111 mph or greater.

Since 1950, the average Atlantic hurricane season has had 10 named storms, with six hurricanes, two of them major, the Project said.

The forecast covers the Atlantic basin and includes all tropical storms and hurricanes in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

The forecast is based on statistics from 58 years of data, the Project said.