NINE STORMS PREDICTED

Up to four could hit U.S.

Tropical storm Barry made landfall Saturday, the first major storm of hurricane season which extends into the fall and is expected to result in at least nine named storms, according to meteorologists.

A “near-normal” Atlantic hurricane season is predicted for this year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but that doesn’t mean residents should expect calm weather.

Hurricane season officially extends from June 1 to November 30 with NOAA predicting a range of 9 to 15 named storms, of which 4 to 8 could become hurricanes. The country could see up to four major hurricanes during the season.

Lourdes Aviles, professor of meteorology at New Hampshire’s Plymouth State University, said it’s less common to see hurricanes forming in June and July as peak season stretches through August, September and sometimes into October.

“Each storm has a different life cycle and some of them intensify or they weaken. It depends a lot on the conditions that the storm finds,” said Aviles.

Aviles cautioned that the number of storms predicted doesn’t say anything about the regions they may hit, so residents should stay tuned to local weather reports if a storm is headed their way.

“People need to still be careful because it doesn’t matter if it’s five or 20 hurricanes, all you need is one that hits your area,” said Aviles.

It is nearly impossible to say if residents in the Boston area will encounter severe weather this hurricane season, said Aviles, but it is possible the region could see summer thunderstorms, cyclones or tornadoes.

AP COASTAL THREATS: Chris Nguyen and his father, Trung, look at the moving water that breached the top of a levee just south of New Orleans as Hurricane Barry makes landfall Saturday.

AP WADING THROUGH: Collen Schiller and Wesley Vinson make their way through the storm surge Saturday from Lake Pontchartrain on Lakeshore Drive in Mandeville, La.