Approaching the heart of hurricane season, government forecasters say indicators are pointing to a potentially "very active" pattern in the tropics, affirming pre-season outlooks.
"Our confidence for an above-normal season is still high because the predicted atmospheric and oceanic conditions that are favorable for storm development have materialized," Gerry Bell, lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center in College Park, said in a statement. "Also, two of the four named storms to-date formed in the deep tropical Atlantic, which historically is an indicator of an active season."