It's certainly reasonable to expect above-normal hurricane seasons for the next decade or perhaps even longer. It's not a matter of if more hurricanes are going to hit the coast, it's simply a matter of when.

Although we have already seen a record-setting seven tropical storms during June and July, much of the season's activity is still to come.

We're not convinced that global warming is playing an important role yet, or if at all, in this era of increased activity.

The waters in the Gulf of Mexico are warm, but so are the waters in the eastern Atlantic. But the water temperature isn't the controlling factor in whether a hurricane maintains its strength. Wind shear still determines whether a storm will strengthen or weaken before it hits land.

These are double to triple the number we would see in an average season.

It's not linked to global warming or anything like that. This is normal climate variability.

It's reasonable to expect ongoing high levels of hurricane activity for many years to come and more importantly, ongoing high levels of hurricane landfalls for the next decade or perhaps longer.