(CNN) The 2018 hurricane season is shaping up to be "below-normal," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, said Thursday.

Experts are now expecting fewer hurricanes than they predicted in late May

"There are still more storms to come -- the hurricane season is far from being over," said Gerry Bell, lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.

Nine to 13 named storms -- including four to seven hurricanes and zero to two major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher -- are predicted this season, which began June 1 and runs through November 30, the federal agency predicted.

The forecast number includes the four named storms that already have formed this year.

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