Forecasters: More active hurricane season

The coming hurricane season is shaping up to be more active than usual, with a private forecasting firm predicting yesterday that the East Coast would be in the action.

But AccuWeather.com forecasters couldn't say whether Long Island would be hit.

AccuWeather predicted 15 named storms this year, more than the average of 10. The season is from June 1 to Nov. 30.

Eight storms are expected to reach hurricane strength, up from the annual average of six, AccuWeather forecasters said.

Last year was the third-most active season on record, with 19 named storms, 12 of them hurricanes. The firm said it had predicted 18 to 21 storms.

No hurricanes made U.S. landfall last year, the company said. Hurricane Earl threatened North Carolina in early September, then tracked north and remained well east of Long Island.

AccuWeather forecaster Dan Kottlowski said most activity this year would likely hit the Southeast, with only a handful of storms making their way north.

"Whether Long Island gets threatened or not, that's a tough call," Kottlowski said.

The National Weather Service said it would release its forecast for the season on May 19.