Hurricane forecasters at Colorado State University say weather patterns indicate that October will see above-average Atlantic storm activity.
One storm could become a "major hurricane" of Category 3 or higher (on a scale of 1 to 5), with winds higher than 111 mph. Overall, the Tropical Meteorology Project expects activity to be nearly twice the activity of the average October.
"We continue to observe low sea-level pressures and warm sea-surface temperatures across the tropical Atlantic," says Phil Klotzbach, lead author of the hurricane forecast. "A combination of these two factors typically leads to an active October."
The chance of storms hitting the U.S. was not predicted.
Mary Jo Naschke, spokeswoman for the city of Galveston, Texas, which was slammed by Hurricane Ike two weeks ago, hoped the prediction is off.
"We just have our plates full," Naschke said. "Our last party was just hell to clean up after."
Through September, there have been 12 named storms, six of which were hurricanes.
An average Atlantic hurricane season, which lasts from June through November, has 10 named storms, six being hurricanes.
The Tropical Meteorology Project predicted nine hurricanes each for 2006 and 2007. There were five in 2006 and six in 2007.
The National Hurricane Center says that for the first time since recordkeeping began in 1851, six consecutive tropical storms or hurricanes hit the U.S.
October storms usually affect southern Florida and the south Atlantic states. Hurricane Wilma, which hit Florida on Oct. 24, 2005, was the most powerful Atlantic hurricane recorded. It killed five people in the USA.