2012 Hurricane Season expected to be moderate

Damage to Old Road Bay, St. Kitts in September 2004 (File photo)

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, MAY 31ST 2012 (CUOPM) – With two tropical storms, Alberto and Beryl, on the books, the 2012 Hurricane Season, which starts on June 1, is still predicted to be moderate.

Nine to 15 named storms are expected during the six-month season from June 1 to Nov. 30, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Several other storm experts have predicted 10 to 12 storms.

The predictions are based in part on cooler surface waters in the Atlantic basin — the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico — and the possibility of a late summer El Niño, which creates upper atmospheric storms that thwart hurricane development.

Forecasters already have said the early season storms are not an indication of things to come.

The names Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sandy, Tony, Valerie, William.