Forecasters announce their 2018 hurricane predictions. Here's what we can expect

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday announced its initial outlook for the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, and forecasters say it might be another busy one.

Forecasters with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center are predicting a 75 percent chance that the upcoming hurricane season — which officially begins June 1 — will be near or above normal.

Experts specifically predict a 35 percent chance of an above-normal season, a 40 percent chance of a near-normal season and a 25 percent chance of a below-normal season, the hurricane outlook states.

"With the advances made in hardware and computing over the course of the last year, the ability of NOAA scientists to both predict the path of storms and warn Americans who may find themselves in harm’s way is unprecedented,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in the outlook. "The devastating hurricane season of 2017 demonstrated the necessity for prompt and accurate hurricane forecasts.”

How many storms do forecasters predict?

The outlook says there's a 70 percent chance of 10 to 16 named storms, which forecasters say have wind speeds of 39 mph or higher. Of those storms, five to nine of them could become hurricanes, with wind speeds of 74 mph or higher.

When it comes to major hurricanes — categories 3, 4, or 5 with wind speeds of 111 mph or higher — experts predict the season will have one to four of them.

The average hurricane season generally produces 12 named storms, of which six become hurricanes and three major hurricanes, according to NOAA.

An updated outlook will be released in early August, which is right before the peak of the season.

The hurricane season peaks between mid-August and late October, with it ending Nov. 30.

Michaela Broyles: 843-626-0281, @MichaelaBroyles

This story was originally published May 24, 2018 at 12:13 PM with the headline "Forecasters announce their 2018 hurricane predictions. Here's what we can expect."