A quiet hurricane season predicted for 2012

After two very busy hurricane seasons in a row, 2012 is expected to be much quieter, according to forecasters with Colorado State University’s Tropical Meteorology Project. Weather patterns since the end of the 2011 hurricane season in November have shifted dramatically, making it less likely that the Atlantic will support the large numbers of storms that 2010 and 2011 brought. The forecast, to be released next week, will predict fewer than 12 Atlantic tropical storms, project scientist Phil Klotzbach said, during the National Hurricane Conference Wednesday.