2021 Hurricane Season forecast to be ‘above average’

(KSLA) - Colorado State University just released its prediction for the 2021 Hurricane Season and they expect another above average season, calling for 17 named storms, eight hurricanes, and four major hurricanes.

The above average season is expected, in part, due to the absence of El Niño, which would help rip storms apart as they try to form. Without its presence and very warm waters, we could see another above average season.

Above average hurricane season forecasted by CSU(source:KSLA.com)

When talking about averages, based off the 1981 to 2010 data used in 2020, this would be five more named storms and two more hurricanes, but there’s now a new average to compare it to that was released by NOAA Friday, April 9. The updated “average” now uses data from 1991 to 2020 and includes a higher number for both average named storms and hurricanes. NOAA says an increase in storms could be attributed to better technology and warming ocean waters.

One last change to this year’s storms is rather than using Greek letters if we run out of letters in the English alphabet, like what happened in 2020, there will now be a supplemental list of regular names to use instead.

MORE>>> Hurricane committee retires Laura, removes Greek alphabet from list of storm names

The list of names used if we run out of the first.(source:KSLA.com)

Even though this could be an above average year for storms, it does not mean they will all make landfall. In 2020, there were 12 U.S. landfalls with six recorded as major hurricanes, and 30 named storms in total.

Hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through Nov 30. We’ll keep you First Aware and First Alert to any threats when they come.