UPDATE 2-U.S. gov't sees active Atlantic hurricane season

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By Christopher Doering

WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) - The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season will be active with as many as nine hurricanes expected to form, U.S. government forecasters predicted on Thursday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast 12 to 16 named storms this season, with six to nine developing into hurricanes. Two to five could be major ones of Category 3 or higher with winds above 110 miles per hour (177 km per hour), the agency said in its annual forecast.

NOAA said there was a 60 to 70 percent probability of its prediction being accurate, the first time the agency has issued a probability with its forecast. It follows the last two years when NOAA called for active hurricane seasons only to see little or no impact on the United States.

"We can't predict with 100 percent certainty. Science is not that exact," said Conrad Lautenbacher, head of NOAA. "It only takes one to make it a bad season," he added.

NOAA cited warm ocean water, favorable atmospheric conditions and the impact from La Nina in making its forecast of an active season.

The hurricane season officially starts on June 1 and typically peaks between late August and mid-October.

The United States has made it through largely unscathed during the last two years. Only one minor storm reached the United States during the 2007 season and it escaped any impact in 2006.