Climate security

2018 hurricane season will be 'slightly above average,' researchers say

The Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be just as busy this year, but not as destructive as the record-breaking season in 2017, researchers said Thursday.

The pre-season forecast from Colorado State University’s Tropical Meteorology Project calls for 14 named storms, of which seven are predicted to strengthen into hurricanes, with three becoming major storms that are Category 3 or higher.

Hurricane researchers note that warm waters in the western Atlantic Ocean and a weaker El Niño may be blamed for an uptick in storms.

"El Niño tends to increase upper-level westerly winds across the Caribbean into the tropical Atlantic, tearing apart hurricanes as they try to form," the researchers said in their report.