 Noted hurricane experts Philip J. Klotzbach , William M. Gray , and their associates at Colorado State University issue forecasts of hurricane activity each year , separately from NOAA . Klotzbach 's team , formerly led by Gray , determined the average number of storms per season between 1950 and 2000 to be 9 @.@ 6 tropical storms , 5 @.@ 9 hurricanes , and 2 @.@ 3 major hurricanes ( storms exceeding Category 3 on the Saffir @-@ Simpson Hurricane Scale ) . A normal season , as defined by NOAA , has 9 to 12 named storms , of which five to seven reach hurricane strength and one to three become major hurricanes . 
