Hurricane Forecast for 2011

Here is the hurricane forecast for this upcoming season.  I have included the latest forecast from the team at Colorado State University along with the forecast from AccuWeather.  The right hand column shows the average number of named storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes in an average season.  I am not a big fan of these forecast.  Because to be honest with you, it only takes one major hurricane to hit a populated area to be devastating.  Hurricane Andrew was like that for South Florida.  There were only 6 named storms in 1992, but Andrew was just devastating. 

I like to think of these hurricane forecast as just a way to show if the season is expected to be above or below average.  This season with La Nina still in play, I would expect an above average season. 

Also of note is the Colorado State Forecast gives a 47% chance of a major hurricane strinking the Central and Western Gulf Coast.  The climatological average for this area is 30%.  So there is a higher than average chance of a major hurricane affecting the Central and Western Gulf Coast of the United States this season.  ~Larry