"NOAA's prediction for the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season is for 12 to 15 tropical storms, with seven to nine becoming hurricanes, of which three to five could become major hurricanes," said NOAA administrator Conrad Lautenbacher.

The hurricane season begins on June 1 and ends on November 30.

Lautenbacher said the prediction was based on decades-long observations.

"The 25-year period from 1970 to 1994 was relatively inactive, and then in 1995 the climate system shifted to a heavy period of activity, and we expect that to continue," he said at a press conference in St. Louis, Missouri.

The 2004 storm season saw 15 named storms, of which nine became hurricanes, seven of which were "major."

A "major hurricane" is a category three or above 178 kilometers per hour (111 miles per hour).

Four hurricanes, Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, lashed the Caribbean and the US state of Florida during the 2004 season.

Ivan killed more than 100 persons in the region. Jeanne killed 1,000 in Haiti alone.

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