Scientists say the 2006 Atlantic storm season could produce as many as 16 named storms, six of them major hurricanes.
Last year's hurricane season was the most destructive and busiest in 154 years of storm tracking, with a record 28 named storms and a record 15 hurricanes. Meteorologists used up their list of 21 proper names and had to use the Greek alphabet to name storms for the first time.
This year, however, meteorologists have said the Atlantic is not as warm as it was at this time in 2005, meaning potential storms would have less of the energy needed to develop into hurricanes.
Once a storm's winds reach 39 mph, it becomes a tropical storm and is assigned a name. A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when winds reach 74 mph. The storm names for 2006 are: Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sandy, Tony, Valerie and William.
<<< Click on the names at left to see satellite images and charts of each storm.
Credits: CBS/AP/NOAA
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