Another Bad Hurricane Season Predicted
By ALAN SAYRE
Associated Press Writer
BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. - The Atlantic Seaboard and the Gulf Coast could be in for another bad hurricane season, one of the government's top forecasters said Monday. Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr., head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, predicted 12 to 15 tropical storms, seven to nine of them becoming hurricanes, and three to five of those major hurricanes, with winds of at least 111 mph.
"We can't predict this far in advance how many will strike land," he said. But given the active season, "be prepared for two or three of these to make landfall."
On average, the United States is hit by two major hurricanes every three years. Last year, there were 15 tropical storms, with nine of them hurricanes
