"The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season will be above average in activity and there is a more than 70 percent chance of at least one major hurricane hitting the U.S. coastline, Colorado State University forecasters predicted on Wednesday.

The 2011 forecast from the respected CSU team followed an active season last year which saw high levels of storm and hurricane activity but no landfall on the U.S. coastline.

Slightly reducing an early December forecast, the CSU team said the June 1-November 30 season would spawn 16 named storms.

Of these, nine were expected to turn into hurricanes, with five developing into major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher on the five-step Saffir-Simpson intensity scale."

Pascal Fletcher and Tom Brown report for Reuters April 7, 2011. [2]