Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) released an updated forecast for Atlantic hurricane activity this year, lowering its predictions of storm activity.

The forecasters, Prof. Mark Saunders and Dr. Adam Lea with the Benfield UCL Hazard Research Center in the United Kingdom, still anticipate a busy season, though. The two predict that the 2007 season will be 40 percent above average, and that there is a 72-percent chance that this year will be in the top third of all the years tracked. But given the dearth of storm activity so far, it's not surprising to see estimates begin easing downward.

How much did the estimates recede? According to the forecast, TSR now expects that 9.8 tropical storms will be named this year, with 5.6 becoming full-fledged hurricanes. More than three of those hurricanes are predicted to reach intense hurricane status, which is defined as being of Category 3-strength or higher on the Saffir-Simpson scale.