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CSU Researchers Call for Active Hurricane Season

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As Tropical Storm Emily heads toward Haiti, Colorado State University researchers are maintaining their 2011 forecast for an active hurricane season.

Bill Gray is Professor Emeritus in CSU’s Department of Atmospheric Science, and co-authored the annual seasonal forecastalong with Philip Klotzbach. Overall, he expects the Atlantic to produce 16 named storms and 9 hurricanes.

“We’re looking forward to having this season to be about 175 percent of the average season between 1950 and 2000,” he said.

Gray said in the Tropical Atlantic, warm temperatures combined with lower sea-level pressure have created favorable conditions for storms.

The six-month Atlantic hurricane season began in June, but the peak period for hurricanes runs from August through October.