Offshoreonly.com - watch out east coast...................

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. - The Atlantic Seaboard and the Gulf Coast could be in for another bad hurricane season, one of the government's top forecasters said Monday.

Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr., head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, predicted 12 to 15 tropical storms, seven to nine of them becoming hurricanes, and three to five of those major hurricanes, with winds of at least 111 mph.

"We can't predict this far in advance how many will strike land," he said. But given the active season, "be prepared for two or three of these to make landfall."

On average, the United States is hit by two major hurricanes every three years.

Last year, there were 15 tropical storms, with nine of them hurricanes — six of them major. Florida got hit by an unprecedented four hurricanes.

Lautenbacher said the 2005 forecast was based on a large number of factors, including air pressure, winds and surface temperature.

Forecasters at Colorado State University have also predicted a significantly above-average Atlantic hurricane season. In April, William Gray and his team said they expect 13 named storms, including seven hurricanes, three of them major.

The hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30.