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Forecast: 1997 will make history

Photo by The Orlando Sentinel

Dr. William Gray is a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University and is known for his generally accurate hurricane predictions.

Gray predicts* a busy hurricane season for 1997, including three major storms with winds of 111 mph or higher.

Related stories from the St. Petersburg Times:

Gray's 1997 predictions

7 hurricanes
4 tropical storms

Gray's 1998 predictions

7 hurricanes
4 tropical storms

Actual 1998:

9 hurricanes
4 tropical storms

Gray's original 1995 prediction (Nov. '94)

8 hurricanes
4 tropical storms

Gray's revised 1995 prediction (April '95)

6 hurricanes
4 tropical storms

Gray's second revised 1995 prediction (Aug. '95)

9 hurricanes
7 tropical storms

Actual 1995:

11 hurricanes
8 tropical storms

*Gray's prediction makes use of a variety of worldwide weather patterns, ranging from rainfall amounts in western Africa to the temperature of the water off the coast of Peru. "It's not perfect," he says.