With just more than a week before it starts, Americans should prepare for an “above average” hurricane season as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts between 13 and 19 named storms.

Of those storms, the federal weather agency forecasts that six to 10 will be hurricanes — with three to five of them major ones. NOAA’s Atlantic hurricane outlook was released during a news conference Thursday, 10 days before the June 1 start of the season.

Ken Graham, director of the National Weather Service, and other NOAA experts urged the public to get ready for storms sooner than later.

“Everyone should be prepared as if they are going to be hit,” Graham said. “Every Category 5 hurricane [winds at least 157 mph] to ever hit this country was a tropical storm three days prior. You got to have a plan early.”

A “normal” hurricane season has 14 named storms with seven hurricanes and three major ones, according to NOAA. A major hurricane is a Category 3 or higher with sustained wind speeds of at least 111 mph.

Last year, the weather agency predicted the 2024 season had an 85% chance of being above normal and forecasted its “highest ever” range of between 17 and 25 named storms. NOAA forecasts a 60% chance this season will be above normal, 30% chance of near normal and 10% chance of below normal.

That 2024 season ended up with 18 named storms and 11 hurricanes, including five major ones. That included three hurricanes — Debby, Helene and Milton — making landfall in Florida. The season tied the 2005 record for most hurricanes to hit the peninsula in a year.

In total, Helene and Milton were responsible for at least 250 deaths and more than $120 billion in damage within the United States. After Milton moved through Central Florida, an Orange County man died after apparently stepping on a downed power line while clearing debris in his yard. He is believed to be the only Orlando metropolitan area fatality of the storm, which killed at least 17 across the state. Helene was blamed for at least 18 deaths in Florida.

Last month, weather experts at Colorado State University forecast an above-average storm season this year with 17 named storms, of which nine will become hurricanes. There is a better than 50% chance a major hurricane will strike the United States.

The CSU forecast — considered among the most accurate in predicting tropical activity — points to warmer-than-normal water temperatures in the eastern subtropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean as an indication of an active season.

Even though weather forecasts show a season likely not as busy as last year, experts said the public — especially those living near coastal areas of Florida and the United States — should remain vigilant. The Atlantic hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.

The news conference was held at Jefferson Parrish Emergency Operations Center in Gretna, La., just outside New Orleans, to grimly mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The powerful storm barreled into the southeast Louisiana coast as a Category 3 on Aug. 29, 2005 and was responsible for an estimated 1,883 fatalities around New Orleans and millions of people were left homeless in the city and along the Gulf Coast.

“Since this devastation we’ve made incredible strides” in forecasting and preparing for storms,” Graham said. “We’ve really gotten better.”

The loss of life and property damage was heightened by breaks in the levees that separate New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain. At least 80% of New Orleans was under flood waters on Aug. 31. With more than $160 billion in damages, Katrina is the costliest hurricane to ever hit the United States, surpassing the record previously held by Hurricane Andrew from 1992.