Expert Forecasts Six Hurricanes During Season

This year’s hurricane season will be the worst in five years, with six hurricanes expected, a storm expert predicts.

Two of the storms could be killers, with winds exceeding 100 mph, William Gray, professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University, told the 17th annual National Hurricane Conference.

Gray predicted one hurricane could hit the New Jersey shore, a vulnerable area of heavily developed barrier islands that includes this casino resort.

South Florida is still recovering from 1992’s Hurricane Andrew, which did $40 billion worth of damage, killed 55 people and left thousands homeless. Storm trackers say chances are remote a storm of that magnitude could hit the Northeast. The last to directly hit the New Jersey shore was in 1903.

The professor has a good track record.

He predicted 57 hurricanes in the last 11 years. There were 54.