The 2010 Hurricane Season Prediction released by NOAA's Climate Prediction Center this morning is pretty similar to outlooks released by other experts already this spring. It appears that the season will be a busy one, with up to 23 named storms! Hurricane season officially begins in the Atlantic Basin on June 1st. The Atlantic Basin covers all of the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico.

A seventy percent chance of an above normal season is forecast by NOAA. The outlook calls for between 14 and 23 tropical systems, which could make it one of the busiest seasons on record. 2005 is the current record holder with 28. An average season brings about 10-12. Somewhere between 8-14 of these are expected to become hurricanes which are tropical storms that have winds at 74mph or stronger. The long term average is about six. 3-7 of these may become "Major" hurricanes, meaning category 3, 4, or 5. Category three starts with winds of of 111mph. Average number of major hurricanes is around 2 or 3, while 2005 brought 7 major hurricanes, only 1950 had more with eight.