CSU hurricane forecast: 2023 Atlantic hurricane season could be busier with more storms than initially thought

FOX 35 Tracking The Tropics: 2023 Season Preview

The FOX 35 Storm Team takes a look at how many storms we could see this year, how El Niño could impact this year's season, a new tool that could help protect your home, and a look inside Florida International University's "Wall of Wind."

Colorado State University released its updated forecast for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season on Thursday and now predicts there will be an above-normal hurricane season with more tropical cyclones and storms than originally thought – despite El Nino's possible impact.

CSU now anticipates 18 names storms, nine hurricanes, and four major hurricanes by the end of the 2023 season, which runs June 1 - November 30, 2023. Those numbers include the rare subtropical storm that formed in January, as well as Tropical Storms Arlene, Bret, and Cindy that formed in June.

In April, Colorado State University predicted a below-average hurricane season with 13 named storms, six hurricanes, and two major hurricanes.

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NHC: Atlantic hurricane season sees above-average start with 3 tropical storms in June

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NHC: Atlantic hurricane season sees above-average start with 3 tropical storms in June

There were three tropical storms that formed in the Atlantic basin in June, marking an unseasonably active start to the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

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What to expect in the tropics as Atlantic hurricane season enters July

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What to expect in the tropics as Atlantic hurricane season enters July

So far, we've had four tropical systems form in the Atlantic during the 2023 hurricane season. Three tropical systems formed in June, which typically sees one storm. FOX Weather looks at the tropical forecast for July.

"While we continue to anticipate a robust El Niño for the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, most of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic now has record warm sea surface temperatures. El Niño increases vertical wind shear in the Caribbean and tropical Atlantic, but the extreme anomalous warmth in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic may counteract some of the typical El Niño-driven increase in vertical wind shear," the report said.

For those who live along Florida's coasts, however, CSU said it only takes one hurricane to make landfall to make it an active season and to "prepare he same for every season, regardless of how much activity is predicted."