Hurricane risk for East Coast higher this year

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) – Hurricane forecasters say cooler
ocean temperatures in the Pacific and warmer temperatures in the
Atlantic increases the risk for the East Coast to be slammed by a
hurricane this season.

Colorado State University researchers Wednesday updated their
Atlantic hurricane season forecast, saying there’s a 45 percent
chance of a hurricane hitting the East Coast, including Florida.
The historical probably is 31 percent.

Philip Klotzbach and William Gray’s refined forecast first
issued in December predicts 15 names storms, with four of them
developing into major hurricanes with sustained winds of 111 mph.

Nine named storms developed last season. Three became
hurricanes, and none came ashore in the U.S.