"U.S. weather forecasters on Thursday predicted more tropical storms in 2017 than normal for the Atlantic hurricane season, which last year brought one of the deadliest recorded storm systems that killed several hundred people.

Meteorologists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center said there was a 70 percent chance of seeing between 11 and 17 named tropical storms this season, which begins on June 1 and runs for six months.

'There is a potential for a lot of storm activity this year,' Ben Friedman, acting NOAA administrator, said at a press conference in College Park, Maryland. "

Laila Kearney reports for Reuters May 25, 2017. [2]