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But just because a storm is not technically classified major with 111 mph winds or more, doesn't mean it can't do lots of damage. Sandy is evidence of that; it killed 147 people and caused $50 billion in damage. Forecasters this summer expect to see improvements in their calculations on how much a storm will strengthen or weaken, National Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini said. That's because the National Hurricane Center will start using a new system that incorporates real-time radar from planes flying through storms into computer forecast models. Meteorologists have had the most difficulty predicting changes in the intensity of storms. Bell, who has been making these seasonal forecasts for 15 years, said his accuracy rate is about 70 percent. But last year, his predictions were far too low. He forecast nine to 15 named storms and four to eight hurricanes. There were 19 named storms and 10 hurricanes. During the six-month season, forecasters name tropical storms when top winds reach 39 mph; hurricanes have maximum winds of at least 74 mph. This year's names: Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dorian, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Ingrid, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van and Wendy. ___ Online: NOAA: http://tinyurl.com/hurricaneforecast FEMA preparedness: http://www.ready.gov/
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