As if this year's hurricane season wasn't already off to a busy start, with five tropical storms forming between the Gulf and Atlantic, a new forecast is predicting that things will not slow down.
On Tuesday, Colorado State University released its newest projection for the remaining hurricane season, forecasting 20 named storms by the end of the year - four more than what was originally predicted.
Of those 20 storms, nine are expected to become hurricanes, four of which could be major hurricanes - Category 3 or higher.
The forecast is above the 30-year average (1981-2010), which sits around 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes and nearly 3 major hurricanes.
The probability for a major hurricane to make landfall was also above average. The entire continental U.S. coastline has a 69% chance of being hit by a major hurricane - 17% higher than the average for the last century.
The east coast of the U.S., including Florida, has a 45% chance of being hit - the average for the last century was 31%.
A meteorologist with CSU says the reason why the Atlantic Hurricane season is so active is due to the low chance of an El Nino.
In a tweet, CSU meteorologist Philip Klotzbach said, "Tropical eastern and central Pacific remains cooler than normal."
The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1st and runs until November 30th.
On Sunday, Tropical Storm Edouard became the fifth named storm of the season.
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Two named storms formed in the Atlantic before the official start of the hurricane season June 1.
Tropical Storm Arthur formed off the coast of Florida May 16, and Tropical Storm Bertha surprised the South Carolina coast May 27.
The earliest tropical cyclone on record also formed earlier this year, in the eastern North Pacific, far off the coast of Mexico on April 25.
