Forecasters predict a slow and quiet hurricane season

Handout/Getty Images

Forecasters predict a slow and quiet hurricane season
(Image credit: Handout/Getty Images)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its annual hurricane report today, and the results are pretty decent. The report predicts three to six hurricanes this year, meaning it will be a slightly below-average season in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea.

An average hurricane season, which stretches from June 1 to Nov. 30, sees six hurricanes. However, an El Niño weather pattern will suppress strong storms originating in the Atlantic Ocean. Only one or two of the six predicted hurricanes will be major, containing wind speeds of 111 miles per hour or higher.

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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.