NOAA to release 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season outlook

Forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are scheduled to release their 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season outlook Thursday.

The official start of the hurricane season is June 1, but for the last six years a named storm has formed in the Atlantic prior to the official start of the season. A system currently growing in the Atlantic could extend that streak to seven years in the coming days.

NOAA’s outlook comes more than a month after news that the average number of hurricanes has increased in the Atlantic basin.

The average hurricane season now includes 14 named storms and seven hurricanes, up from 12 and six respectively. The average number of major hurricanes remains unchanged at three. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center uses 30-year periods to create the averages. So up until this next hurricane season, the average season was based on information from 1981-2010. This hurricane season will be based off the data from 1991-2020.

In April, scientists with Colorado State University predicted the 2021 season would be above average. The team said 17 named storms and 8 hurricanes are expected, with four of those predicted to be major storms.

NC State researchers are also predicting an active hurricane season this year.