CSU hurricane forecast: 2023 Atlantic hurricane season could be busier with more storms than initially thought

Colorado State University released its updated forecast for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season on Thursday and now predicts there will be an above-normal hurricane season with more tropical cyclones and storms than originally thought – despite El Nino's possible impact.

CSU now anticipates 18 names storms, nine hurricanes, and four major hurricanes by the end of the 2023 season, which runs June 1 - November 30, 2023. Those numbers include the rare subtropical storm that formed in January, as well as Tropical Storms Arlene, Bret, and Cindy that formed in June.

In April, Colorado State University predicted a below-average hurricane season with 13 named storms, six hurricanes, and two major hurricanes.

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"While we continue to anticipate a robust El Niño for the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, most of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic now has record warm sea surface temperatures. El Niño increases vertical wind shear in the Caribbean and tropical Atlantic, but the extreme anomalous warmth in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic may counteract some of the typical El Niño-driven increase in vertical wind shear," the report said.

For those who live along Florida's coasts, however, CSU said it only takes one hurricane to make landfall to make it an active season and to "prepare he same for every season, regardless of how much activity is predicted."

Here are the 2023 Atlantic hurricane storm names

  • Arlene (Pronunciation: ar-LEEN)
  • Bret (Pronunciation: bret)
  • Cindy (Pronunciation: SIN-dee)
  • Don (Pronunciation: dahn)
  • Emily (Pronunciation: EH-mih-lee)
  • Franklin (Pronunciation: FRANK-lin)
  • Gert (Pronunciation: gert)
  • Harold (Pronunciation: HAIR-uld)
  • Idalia (Pronunciation: ee-DAL-ya)
  • Jose (Pronunciation: ho-ZAY)
  • Katia (Pronunciation: KAH-tyah)
  • Lee (Pronunciation: lee)
  • Margot (Pronunciation: MAR-go)
  • Nigel (Pronunciation: NY-juhl)
  • Ophelia (Pronunciation: o-FEEL-ya)
  • Philippe (Pronunciation: fee-LEEP)
  • Rina (Pronunciation: REE-nuh)
  • Sean (Pronunciation: shawn)
  • Tammy (Pronunciation: TAM-ee)
  • Vince (Pronunciation: vinss)
  • Whitney (Pronunciation: WHIT-nee)