BOULDER, Colo. – Experts at Colorado State University (CSU) said in an update Wednesday that an above-average Atlantic hurricane season is still expected.

CSU forecasters stuck with the slightly reduced outlook they issued in July in their August update – 16 named storms, with eight becoming hurricanes and three of those reaching major status of Category 3 or higher .

HURRICANES EXPLAINED: CATEGORY 1 | CATEGORY 2 | CATEGORY 3 | CATEGORY 4 | CATEGORY 5

"We have maintained our forecast for a slightly above-normal 2025 Atlantic basin hurricane season, although noting lower-than-normal confidence with this outlook," forecasters wrote in the update.

The primary driver behind keeping the above-average forecast is unusually warm water across the eastern and central Atlantic Basin, forecasters

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