That is the most named storms NOAA has forecast since it began issuing the outlook in 1998. Only 2005 had more actual named storms: 28, including 15 hurricanes. One of them was Katrina.

WEATHER: Fierce hurricane season predicted

NOAA predicted more storms than actually occurred only once, in 2006.

"We could be facing one of the more active seasons on record," NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenko said at a news conference.

Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, urged people living on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, especially in hurricane evacuation zones, to "get ready now" by planning how they'll evacuate families and pets.

The hurricane season is June 1 to Nov. 30, but most storms occur in August through October.

State and federal emergency planners are worried about a storm surge that could carry oil from the Gulf spill far inland.

In urban areas, Fugate says, emergency workers are already prepared to deal with oil spills because they often happen when a storm overturns cars and boats.

"The bigger problem will be in areas where we have no other contamination — in the estuaries and bays," he said. There's no plan or experience with that, he said.

In Louisiana, where fishermen idled by the oil spill are having financial problems, emergency managers expect demand for transportation and shelter from as many as 60,000 evacuees if a hurricane strikes the coast this year. That's 70% more than they helped in Hurricane Gustav in 2008, says Mark Cooper, emergency preparedness director.

Rupert Lacy, emergency management director of Harrison County, Miss., expects 1,500 BP employees and contractors to require emergency shelter in case of a hurricane.

He said the company is offering financial help to residents who might have oil slicks in their homes.

"On any storm, you talk to your insurance agent and to FEMA. (Now) you might at the same time be talking to the BP claims person," Lacy said.

News Source: USA Today

Tropical Storm Agatha kills 131 in Central America

May 31, 2010: GUATEMALA CITY — Flooding and landslides from the season's first tropical storm have killed at least 131 people in Central America, officials said Monday.

Dozens are still missing, thousands have lost homes and emergency crews are struggling to reach isolated communities cut off by washed-out roads and collapsed bridges caused by Tropical Storm Agatha.