Researchers at Colorado State University predicted the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season will be an "extremely active" one in their updated forecast released Wednesday.
Very warm sea temperatures and very low wind shear in the tropical Atlantic were given as the primary drivers for the increase in the forecast, which now calls for 24 named storms, 12 hurricanes with five becoming major hurricanes of category 3 or greater.
The estimate includes the nine named storms that have already formed this year - Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo, Hanna and Isaias.
An earlier projection called for 20 named storms, nine hurricane and four major hurricanes.
The report said the 2020 season has characteristics simliar to other active seasons. “All of these seasons were very active in the Atlantic basin, with several (most notably 1995, 2005 and 2017) being extremely active,” said Phil Klotzbach, research scientist in the CSU Department of Atmospheric Science and lead author of the report.