Hurricane Alert for 2008

Forecasters have predicted and above average hurricane season for the Atlantic coast for the year 2008.

At least 15 named storms are predicted to form in the Atlantic basin between June 1 and Nov. 30. Eight of the storms are predicted to become hurricanes, and of those eight, four are expected to develop into intense or major hurricanes with sustained winds of 111 mph or greater.

The 2005 season — the year of Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Dennis and Emily — caused a record $128 billion in damage, with at least 2,280 reported deaths.

The 2004 season was one of the deadliest, with at least 3,100 deaths and more than $50 billion in damage.

The hurricane forecast team's probabilities for a major hurricane making landfall in the U.S. are:

— A 69 percent chance that at least one major hurricane will make landfall on the U.S. coastline in 2008 (the long-term average probability is 52 percent)

— A 45 percent chance that a major hurricane will make landfall on the U.S. East Coast, including the Florida Peninsula (the long-term average is 31 percent)

— A 44 percent chance that a major hurricane will make landfall on the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle west to Brownsville (the long-term average is 30 percent)

The team also predicted above-average major hurricane landfall risk in the Caribbean.