NOAA forecasts continued strong Atlantic hurricane season

( NewsNation ) — Forecasters have adjusted predictions for the rest of the Atlantic hurricane season as tropical storm Debby drenches North and South Carolina.

Forecasters issued predictions for an aggressive hurricane season earlier in the year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted 17 to 25 named storms, with eight to 13 strengthening into hurricanes. The agency said four to seven of those hurricanes were likely to be severe.

The latest update now predicts 17 to 24 named storms, with the same number expected to become hurricanes. The prediction for severe hurricanes also remained unchanged.

So far, there have been four named storms. Hurricane Beryl was the strongest, though the category five hurricane weakened in intensity before it reached the U.S. and made landfall in Texas.

Debby was the second storm to reach hurricane status, though the category one hurricane was quickly downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall in Florida. However, the slow speed as Debby tracked up the coast along Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina resulted in historic flooding and rainfall totals.

Meteorologists are currently tracking a disturbance in the Atlantic that has the potential to strengthen into a tropical storm, which would be the fifth storm of the season and be named Ernesto.

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