3 Major Hurricanes Predicted This Season

William Gray, an atmospheric scientist at Colorado State University, predicted a busier-than-average season this year, with 12 named storms, seven of which will develop into hurricanes, three of them major.

Typically during the June-through-October hurricane season, there are about 10 named storms, with six hurricanes, two of them major. A major hurricane has sustained winds of at least 111 mph.

Gray also told the 2002 National Hurricane Conference in Orlando, Fla., that the season will be quieter than he first forecast because of a strengthening El Nino system in the eastern Pacific.