Colorado State's William Gray delays 2012 hurricane forecast until spring

This satellite image provided by NOAA and taken at 3:15 p.m. EDT Thursday Oct. 20, 2005 shows Hurricane Wilma as it approaches the Mexican Yucatan peninsula. Wilma, a Category 4 storm with winds of 150 mph, churned toward the Yucatan peninsula and south Florida after its outer bands hit Haiti and Jamaica, where it killed at least 13 people. (AP Photo/NOAA)

This satellite image provided by NOAA and taken at 3:15 p.m. EDT Thursday Oct. 20, 2005 shows Hurricane Wilma as it approaches the Mexican Yucatan peninsula. Wilma, a Category 4 storm with winds of 150 mph, churned toward the Yucatan peninsula and south Florida after its outer bands hit Haiti and Jamaica, where it killed at least 13 people. (AP Photo/NOAA)

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Hurricane forecaster William Gray will wait until spring to predict how many storms will form in the Atlantic.

Gray and his research partner at Colorado State University, Philip Klotzbach, usually start making predictions in December but this month, for the first time in 20 years, they're holding off on forecasting the number of named storms, including hurricanes.

Klotzbach says they've tried various models but none have been successful in estimating the number of storms that early. He acknowledges that, currently, predicting hurricanes that far out is "just about as good as making a guess."

CSU will still issue a discussion of possible hurricane activity each December but the first estimate of the number of storms won't come until April.

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