Claims News Service, Dec. 7, 11:26 a.m. EST — Just a week after 2005's official hurricane season came to a close, the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University has released a report on what to expect for the 2006.

Authors Philip Klotzbach and William Gray state that although an active season is believed to be in store next year, they expect fewer major hurricanes to make landfall in comparison to 2004 and 2005. Seventeen storms are predicted to be named, with nine developing into hurricanes. Five of those are expected to become intense hurricanes. In comparison, 2005 featured 26 named storms, with 14 storms being named and seven becoming intense hurricanes. A hurricane is classified as being intense when it reaches Category 3 status or higher.

The probability of a major catastrophe still is sizeable for 2006. The report states that there is an 81 percent chance an intense hurricane would strike the U.S. coastal areas. Gray and Klotzbach predict that the East Coast has a 64 percent chance of being hit and the Gulf Coast (from the Florida Panhandle to Brownsville, Texas) a 47 percent chance.