Atlantic Hurricane Season Becomes More Active

The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season will be more active than average.

While the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season will experience a rough year for tropical storms for the United States, Caribbean and Central America, it will probably not repeat the same 2005 season devastation.

The fourth storm of the season usually does not occur until August 29. This year, the fourth, Dolly, formed on July 20 and was on the cusp of becoming a hurricane on Tuesday as it drove through the Gulf of Mexico.

Most seasons that see as much early storm activity as this one turn out to have more tropical storms and hurricanes than the average, said Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman for the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

In 2005, the Atlantic hurricane season produced 28 storms, including Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans, killed 1,500 people on the U.S. Gulf Coast, and pushed oil prices to then record levels.

A typical season will have 10 storms, of which six strengthen into hurricanes with winds of at least 74 mph (119 km per hour). In May, NOAA predicted there would be 12 to 16 named storms this year, of which six to nine would become hurricanes.