PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – With the start of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season nearly one week away, researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are predicting a near average season.

NOAA predicts nine to 15 named storms, four to eight of which could become hurricanes, including two to four hurricanes of at least Category 3 strength or higher. These ranges come with a 70% confidence level.

Some degree of El Nino is likely, which is marked by slightly warmer than average water near the equator in the Pacific Ocean. While this can suppress the intensity of this year's hurricane season, warmer than average water in the Atlantic Ocean, combined with more storms systems coming off the African coast, are expected to counteract the expected El Nino.

Even though hurricane season doesn't begin until next week, Andrea already came and went earlier this week. The next storm will be named Barry.

!function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script")[0],d=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=d+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var r=e.createElement("script");r.async=1,r.id=s,r.src=i,o.parentNode.insertBefore(r,o)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js");

An update from NOAA on their predictions is coming in August, before the season peaks.