T​he 2023 Atlantic hurricane season is now forecast to be more active than average despite an El Niño, but also more unpredictable, according to the latest outlook.

An update released Thursday by the Colorado State University tropical forecast team calls for 18 storms, nine of which are expected to become hurricanes and four of which will reach at least Category 3 status.

This is an increase of three storms, two hurricanes and one major hurricane since their previous outlook, which was released in early June. The increase in storms and the overall outlook takes into account four storms that have already occurred this year.

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