Forecaster sees three tropical storms in October

By Jim Loney

MIAMI (Reuters) - Three tropical storms will form in the Atlantic and Caribbean in October, of which two will strengthen into hurricanes, the noted Colorado State University hurricane research team predicted Wednesday.

The CSU team, founded by pioneer hurricane forecaster Bill Gray, did not issue a new full-season forecast. In early August, the forecaster called for a total of 17 tropical storms during the six-month season, of which it said nine would become hurricanes.

The forecaster predicted that one of the two hurricanes in October would be a "major" storm of Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity, with sustained winds higher than 110 miles per hour (177 km per hour).

"We continue to observe low sea level pressures and warm sea surface temperatures across the tropical Atlantic," forecaster Phil Klotzbach said in a written statement, citing two of the key factors that contribute to hurricane activity.

An average Atlantic hurricane season -- which runs from June 1 to November 30 -- has about 10 tropical storms, of which six become hurricanes.

The record was set three years ago, when 28 tropical storms and hurricanes formed, including Katrina, the costliest U.S. storm in history with about $80 billion in damage.

To date, the 2008 Atlantic season has produced 12 tropical storms, of which six became hurricanes. Three of those became major hurricanes.

A month ago, the Colorado State team predicted that September would produce five tropical storms, four of which would grow into hurricanes. It said two of the hurricanes would be Category 3 or higher.

September produced four storms, two of which became hurricanes. Only Hurricane Ike became a major storm.

At its peak strength, Ike had sustained winds of 145 mph. It inundated Haiti and raged over the length of Cuba before slamming into the U.S. oil and natural gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico and eastern Texas, where its powerful tidal surge swamped Galveston and surrounding coastal towns.

Tropical Storm Josephine fizzled at sea while Kyle hit Canada's maritime provinces. Tropical Storm Laura was weakening Wednesday as it headed over cold North Atlantic waters east-southeast of Newfoundland.

(Reporting by Jim Loney, editing by Tom Brown)