By Erwin Seba
Reuters
HOUSTON - The United States should prepare for a sixth year of above-average number of Atlantic hurricanes, Colorado State University (CSU) forecasters said in the first official 2021 outlook on Thursday.
The closely-watched outlook points to an active year, but below the vast scale of 2020's season. Last year saw a record of 30 named storms that ran through the initial 21 chosen names and required nine Greek letters.
Colorado State forecasters on Thursday estimated 17 named storms and eight hurricanes will form this year, above the historical average of 12 storms and six hurricanes. Those storms will produce four major hurricanes packing winds of at least 111 miles per hour (178.6 kph), according to CSU's forecast.