AccuWeather releases 2019 hurricane season forecast

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WILMINGTON, NC (Accuweather) — After an active Atlantic hurricane season in 2018, AccuWeather forecasters are predicting 2019 to result in a near-to slightly above-normal season with 12 to 14 storms.

Of those storms, five to seven are forecast to become hurricanes and two to four are forecast to become major hurricanes.

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“This year, we think that there will be a few less tropical storms and lower numbers in hurricanes, but again, the old saying is ‘it only takes one’,” AccuWeather Atlantic Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said.

After the U.S. took a battering in 2018, thanks largely to Michael and Florence, meteorologists are once again forecasting impacts for the United States.

According to Kottlowski, two to four are likely.

To help predict the upcoming season, forecasters have drawn comparisons to previous years with comparable weather conditions — also known as analog years.

In this case, 1969 bears strong similarity to our current pattern.

During that season, Hurricane Camille slammed into the Gulf coastline, making landfall in Waveland, Mississippi, and causing widespread damage to several coastal areas, including Mobile, Alabama. It became one of only three Category 5 hurricanes on record to impact the U.S.

But that doesn’t mean we’ll experience something similar this year, Kottlowski said.

Get the latest tropical updates in the WWAY Hurricane Center.