Hurricanes churning as forecasters maintain predictions for a season of high activity

As Hurricane Felix slammed into Nicaragua and Hurricane Henriette barrels towards Mexico, researchers at Colorado State University (CSU) maintain their prediction of above average activity for the remainder of the hurricane season.<br>Hurricane Felix made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 257 km-h, making it a boderline Category 4 or 5 storm, a release from AIR Worldwide says. <br>According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Felix intensified at the fastest rate on record, taking just 51 hours to strengthen from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane, Dr. Peter Dailey, director of atmospheric science at AIR Worldwide, said in a statement.<br>Forecasters expect Felix to have become a tropical depression sometime tomorrow before crossing into Guatemala, and ultimately into Mexico. <br>AIR experts arent expecting significant insured losses from the storm, however, there is a potential for insured losses from precipitation-induced mudslides in Honduras, where commercial take-up rates are relatively high, Dailey added.<br>Hurricane Henriette, a weak Category 1 hurricane is expected to make landfall near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Cabo San Lucas has a population of about 60,000 and is a popular resort town studded with luxury homes and hotels, however these structures are likely to fare well in the face of weak Category 1 force wind speeds.<br>While Hurricanes Felix and Henriette churn, Philip J. Klotzbach and William M. Gray, researchers at CSUs Department of Atmospheric Science, are continuing to predict activity above the long-term average for the remainder of the 2007 season.<br>The team had predicted that two hurricanes would form in August – but one did, Hurricane Dean and according to their forecast, September will see five named storms. <br><br>