Local May 2, 2019 | 11:35 am

Preliminary forecast: 13 hurricanes this season

Hurricane Joaquin is seen over the Bahamas in the Atlantic Ocean in an image from the NOAA GOES West satellite taken at 08:00 ET (12:00 GMT) October 1, 2015. REUTERS/NOAA/Handout via Reuters

Santo Domingo.- Preliminary forecasts for the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1 indicate at least 13 named storms of which five could become a hurricane and two will reach the intense category.

The number supposes a normal season, though less active than the two previous years.

There were 15 storms in 2018 and eight became hurricanes; the previous year saw 17 storms and 10 hurricanes were formed, six of them intense.

National Weather Office (Onamet) director Gloria Ceballos, on Thurs. said the fewer storms this year is due to the El Niño phenomenon,” which is a bit weak for the date, but continues to cool the waters of the Atlantic where most of the phenomena affecting the Caribbean are formed.”