Hurricane experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said they are expecting an above normal Atlantic hurricane season. The agency said it is anticipating up 13 to 19 named storms, of which six to 10 could become hurricanes and three to five could ramp up into a major hurricane, a Category 3 storm or higher.

The preseason forecast is just the 30,000-foot view of what’s likely. Here’s what forecasters will be watching for over the weeks and months ahead.

An average of 3.5 storms typically would have formed by now, but there have been no named tropical cyclones in this hemisphere so far.

According to the National Hurricane Center, the first Tropical Wave of the 2025 Hurricane Season moved off Africa Sunday afternoon. Tropical development is not expected. Hurricane Season begins June 1.