NOAA Predicts Below-Average Hurricane Season: How Other Forecasts Compare
Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, and NOAA is predicting a 55 percent chance it will be a below-average one.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its 2026 hurricane forecast on Thursday, predicting a below-average season for the Atlantic basin. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, and this year, NOAA is predicting a 55 percent chance it will be a below-average one. The agency forecasts that eight to 14 storms will be named and three to six of them will become hurricanes.
NOAA adds that one to three of those hurricanes will be major ones, meaning category 3 or higher with winds of 111 mph or more. An average hurricane season has 14 named storms including seven hurricanes, with three becoming major storms. Newsweek reached out to NOAA via email for additional comment.
In this NOAA handout image taken by the GOES satellite, Hurricane Ian whips toward Florida on September 28, 2022, in the Gulf of Mexico. (Photo by NOAA, via Getty Images) What To Know In a post to X reacting to the NOAA forecast, the National Weather Service (NWS) in New Orleans cautioned that even in below-average years, “it only takes one storm to make it a bad season! ” “1965’s Hurricane Betsy devastated parts of SE Louisiana during a quieter year.
Be prepared: https://weather. gov/safety/hurricane ,” the post continued. NOAA in its forecast added that there is a 35 percent chance for a near-normal season and 10 percent chance for an above- normal one.