Hurricane Season 2022 Predicted To Be 'Above Normal': NOAA

COLLEGE PARK, MD — As hurricane season approaches, weather experts are predicting yet another extraordinarily active year that could bring as many as six major hurricanes and up to 21 named storms to U.S. coasts.

Forecasters at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center on Tuesday released their annual prediction for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which officiallybegins June 1 and continues through Nov. 30.

According to this year's forecast, the ongoing La Niña, in addition to above-average ocean temperatures, means there's a 65 percent chance the 2022 hurricane season will be above normal.

For the 2022 season, forecasters are predicting 14 to 21 named storms with winds of 39 mph or higher. Of those, anywhere from six to 10 of the storms could become hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or higher.

This year's season could also spawn anywhere from three to six major hurricanes rated a category 3 or higher, forecasters said.

NOAA's forecast is in line with one released in April by weather analysts at Colorado State University's Department of Atmospheric Science. According to Colorado State's model, the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season will be an active one that produces 19 named storms, nine hurricanes, and four major hurricanes reaching wind speeds of 111 mph and up.

Colorado State also forecast a 75 percent chance of a hurricane coming within 50 miles of Florida this season and a 44 percent chance of a major hurricane within 50 miles of Florida's coastline.

RELATED: Atlantic Hurricane Season 2022 Likely To Be Active: Forecast

"As we reflect on another potentially busy hurricane season, past storms — such as Superstorm Sandy, which devastated the New York metro area ten years ago — remind us that the impact of one storm can be felt for years," NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said in a statement. "Since Sandy, NOAA’s forecasting accuracy has continued to improve, allowing us to better predict the impacts of major hurricanes to lives and livelihoods."

In 2020's record-setting hurricane season, Hurricane Zeta formally reached the end of the United Nation's backup list of Greek letters for the first time as the 27th named storm of the year, NBC reported.

NOAA's forecast is for overall seasonal activity and is not a landfall forecast. The Climate Prediction Center will update the 2022 Atlantic outlook in early August, just prior to the historical peak of the season.

RELATED: 2022 Hurricane Names List Released For Atlantic Season