Claims News Service, Aug. 29, 2:20 p.m. — Amidst fervent activity in the Atlantic in the form of Fay, Gustav, and Hanna, WSI is sticking to their predictions of a busy season.

WSI Corporation's 2008 forecast continues to call for 15 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 4 intense hurricanes (category 3 or greater). These forecast numbers have not changed relative to the July forecast. The forecast numbers are significantly higher than the 1950-2007 averages of 9.7 named storms, 5.9 hurricanes, and 2.3 intense hurricanes.

The expectations for an active 2008 season arise from the expected continuation of warmer-than-normal Atlantic Ocean temperature anomalies throughout the remainder of the season and the likelihood of a favorable or neutral wind shear environment on the heels of the recent La Nina event. The persistence in forecast numbers comes about due to the opposing impacts of an increase in Atlantic Ocean temperature anomalies and an increase in sea surface temperature anomalies in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The first factor is enabling for tropical cyclone development, while the latter is associated with increasing wind shear that would inhibit storm formation.