2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season

The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season begins on Friday, June 1. NOAA is predicting a near-normal hurricane season this year. Thus, there is a 70% chance of nine to 15 named tropical storms, four to eight hurricanes, of which one to three will become major hurricanes. This year, there has been a minor change to the Saffir-Simpson categories hurricanes, in which the wind speed for the major hurricanes has been adjusted upward by one mile per hour. The Atlantic basin has, as of this writing (and thus prior to the start of the official season), already experienced tropical storms Alberto and Beryl. The complete list of the 2012 Atlantic tropical storm and hurricane names includes 19 (so-far) not-yet-used storm names. Learn more about tropical storms and hurricanes from this overview article on my site.