Forecasters predict record number of hurricanes [Video]

(The Hill) — Weather forecasters at the University of Pennsylvania predicted a record hurricane season for 2024 on Thursday, a “hyperactive” season that could threaten the Gulf Coast.

The UPenn forecast predicts between 27-39 named tropical storms, with the best estimate of 33 storms, the most of any forecast in the 15-year history of the project. An average season usually has about half that number.

“We’ve seen many hyperactive seasons over the past decade, and in just about all cases, like our prediction for this year, the activity is substantially driven by ever-warmer conditions in the tropical Atlantic tied to large-scale warming,” Professor Michael Mann, who leads the forecast, said in a statement.

High sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic and an anticipated moderate La Niña weather formation in the Pacific this fall are likely to lead to more storms, according to the forecast.

Mann said his group’s predictions can be used …