'Intense' hurricane expected

03/10/2005 21:54

Miami - Two hurricanes, one of them particularly intense, are expected to develop this month in the Atlantic, says William Gray, a leading hurricane forecaster.

The hurricane season already has been one of the most active and destructive on record.

Since the season started on June 1, there have been 18 named Atlantic storms, nine of them hurricanes.

Three of those storms developed into major hurricanes that slammed into the US Gulf coast, including one - Katrina - that became the costliest US natural disaster on record after devastating New Orleans and nearby areas.

Gray said the high storm activity this year was partly due to warmer temperatures in the Atlantic, lower sea level pressures, lower vertical wind shear and moister air.

Meanwhile, forecasters issued a hurricane warning for Mexico's Gulf Coast as Tropical Storm Stan moved over the Gulf of Mexico and appeared set to gather strength before its forecast landfall early on Wednesday.

The Atlantic hurricane season ends on November 30.

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