The peak of Atlantic hurricane season begins in mid-August but so far this year has been light with just four named storms. Forecasters note that the waters in the Caribbean are much warmer than normal, which is conductive to strong storms. Now we're just waiting for some to spin up ahead of the peak of the season, which is around Sept 15.
A couple of candidates have emerged off the coast of Africa.
Over the next 7 days, the NOAA sees a 50% chance of one spinning up into a tropical cyclone and a 40% chance of the other. The next two named storms will be Emily and Franklin.
The NOAA outlook calls for a 70% chance of 14 to 21 named storms, with six to 11 reaching hurricane strength and two to five major hurricanes.
