Careful, New Jersey: Worst Hurricane Season Since Superstorm Sandy Predicted

It could be another one of those stormy summers again in New Jersey.

Eight hurricanes are predicted for this year's hurricane season, perhaps the most since Superstorm Sandy struck New Jersey in 2012, experts say.

The U.S. Climate Prediction Center says a more "challenging" hurricane season is predicted even though it's difficult to determine whether there will be reinforcing or competing climate influences on tropical storm development.

The U.S. Climate Center outlook calls for a 70 percent probability for each form of weather activity during the 2016 hurricane season:

• 10-16 named storms, which includes Alex in January
• 4-8 Hurricanes, which includes Alex in January
• 1-4 Major Hurricanes

Indeed, a tropical system is currently forming off the Florida coast that could hit the U.S. by next week, forecasters say.

Experts from AccuWeather and elsewhere warn that those living along the Atlantic coast should be on alert.

"During the early part of the season, of course, we look off the Southeast coast of the United States, where we've already had one with Bonnie, but we also look in the Gulf of Mexico especially the northwestern portion of the Caribbean into the Gulf of Mexico," AccuWeather Atlantic Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said in a release.

For months, meteorologists have been monitoring the possibility for the El Niño weather pattern to transition to a La Niña, a change that would have a significant impact on how active the season becomes, according to AccuWeather.

Earlier this spring, it was unclear whether or not this transition would occur, but experts say it's now looking more likely, according to AccuWeather. La Niña is characterized by below-normal water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean near the equator.

When this occurs, less wind shear is found in the developmental regions of the Atlantic, increasing the potential for a higher-than-normal amount of tropical systems, according to AccuWeather.

"There's even more information now strongly suggesting that there's at least a 75 to 80 percent chance that we will go into a La Niña pattern," Kottlowski said.

The 2015 Atlantic hurricane season yielded 11 named storms in total, and four became hurricanes and two became major hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.