Hurricane season this year

[uglymugly]

Over on uk.sci.weather, there's a brief conversation about the hurricane season (which officially starts on 1st June). Back in December last year, the Colorado State University's Tropical Meteorological Project predicted an above-average number of Atlantic basin hurricanes. There's an added problem in that sea surface temperatures appear to be higher than normal.

Of course, all that doesn't bode well for those areas of the USA which are most likely to be affected, but I'm wondering how many of those likely storm systems could become extratropical cyclones and possibly affect weather systems in the north Atlantic and, eventually, the UK.

I have to say that I am pretty much a beginner on this subject, and I understand that weather systems that affect the eastern seaboard of the USA and Canada don't necessarily track across the northern Atlantic towards us, but I'm wondering if such an energetic set-up could possibly have knock-on effects for us this summer.

Here's a link to the NOAA SST anomaly chart: www.osdpd.noaa.gov/data/sst/anomaly/2010/anomnight.4.22.2010.gif

Colorado State University Tropical Meteorological Project??? Very odd as Colorado is completely landlocked, and is hundreds if not thousands of miles from the ocean.

Bit like having your a Snowfall Prediction Academy based in Miami!

Many universities, here and in the USA and elsewhere, study phenonema that are not on their doorstep. That's pretty much what education is about.

Here's a link to that project: hurricane.atmos.colostate.edu/

Wasn't there a lower than average number of hurricanes lAST YEAR? (Sorry hit caps) or the ones that they did get were less brutal than they thought they would be?

I think last year was a below average year.
NOAA issue their predictions for the season in early May, will be interesting to see what they say.