We may be more than a month away from the official start of the hurricane season (June 1st), but there are those who have been thinking about it since the season ended last year. Professor William Gray of Colorado State University has been producing hurricane forecasts for over twenty years. He is continually updating his methods with the introduction of new research. His forecast is based on a multitude of world wide factors from the subtropical jet stream to El Nino and even rain patterns over the Saharan Desert. This year he is calling for an active season in the Atlantic with 15 named storms…compared to the 9.6 average. He also believes that 4 of those storms will be intense (winds 111mph or greater) and that there is a 70% chance that one of the 15 storms will hit the East Coast. No hurricanes in our future, but it will begin to feel like summer Thursday with some spots topping out near 70 degrees.

Joe Venuti
WCVB Meteorologist