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The outlook, released Thursday, May 23, predicts an 85 percent chance of an above-normal season, a 10 percent chance of a near-normal season, and a 5 percent chance of a below-normal season.
NOAA is forecasting 17 to 25 named storms (winds of 39 miles per hour or higher). That's the most storms ever predicted for an Atlantic hurricane season.
Of those, eight to 13 are forecast to become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including four to seven major hurricanes (category 3, 4, or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher).
Forecasters have a 70 percent confidence in these ranges, NOAA said.
The upcoming Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be so active due to what NOAA says is a "confluence of factors, including near-record warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, development of La Niña conditions in the Pacific, reduced Atlantic trade winds and less wind shear, all of which tend to favor tropical storm formation."
Click on the second image above for a graphic showing an alphabetical list of the 2024 Atlantic tropical cyclone names selected by the World Meteorological Organization.
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season runs from Saturday, June 1 to Saturday, Nov. 30.
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