FORT COLLINS, Colo., April 1 (UPI) -- The nation's best known long-range hurricane forecaster Friday predicted an active season for the Atlantic-Caribbean this year, but not as bad as 2004.
William Gray of Colorado State University predicted 13 storms would develop into seven hurricanes, three of them major, The Miami Herald reported.
The average season produces 10 tropical storms, six hurricanes and two major storms with winds of more than 110 mph.
Last year, there were 15 tropical storms, nine hurricanes and six major storms.
"All of the information we have collected and analyzed through March indicates that the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season will be an active one," Gray said.
But he said coastal residents should not expect a disastrous season like the last one when four hurricanes raked Florida.
"The 2004 hurricane season was an unusual year and residents along the East Coast should not expect the high number of landfalling major hurricanes or the unprecedented level of destruction to be the norm for this or future years," he said.
