HOUSTON (Reuters) -Colorado State University meteorologists on Wednesday left unchanged their closely-watched forecast for an above-average 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1, from their release in April.
The outlook continues to expect four major hurricanes, with sustained winds of 111 miles per hour (178.6 km/h), among a total of nine hurricanes out of 17 named tropical storms before the season ends on November 30.
In May, U.S. government forecasters issued a forecast for a similar number of storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes for this year.
Colorado State forecasters warned that the outlook could change because of uncertainty over the development of El Nino wind shear conditions between August and October at the height of the hurricane activity.
“While the odds of El Nino this hurricane season are low, they are still considerably higher than they were for last year’s hurricane season,” the forecast said.
An El Nino is formed by cooler areas in the Pacific Ocean, and sends high winds across the southern United States, which can rip hurricanes apart.
The above-average prediction is based on higher than average sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic and Caribbean, according to the forecast.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba, Editing by Franklin Paul and Ed Osmond)
