Hurricane watchers for a while now have been pointing to ominous signs for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.

And an early forecast from Colorado State University’s hurricane experts will only fuel the fire.

CSU, as is its custom, released its early 2024 Atlantic hurricane season outlook on Thursday, and the CSU team is expecting this summer and fall to be “extremely active” when it comes to hurricanes and tropical storms.

And the forecast includes an increased probability of a major hurricane striking the Gulf Coast.

CSU has been in the business of hurricane forecasting for 41 years now, and forecasters also said they have more confidence than usual at this point in the year about their outlook.

It’s an early forecast — the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season isn’t until June 1.

The report urges those that live along the coast — in the Atlantic, the Gulf and the Caribbean, to get prepared.

“We anticipate a well above-average probability for major hurricanes making landfall along the continental United States coastline and in the Caribbean,” the report said. “As with all hurricane seasons, coastal residents are reminded that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season. Thorough preparations should be made every season, regardless of predicted activity.”

Why so active? Forecasters expect the ongoing El Nino to transition to La Nina over the summer and into the fall, which could make conditions more favorable for tropical systems to develop.

Water temperatures in the Atlantic are “record warm,” the report said, and are expected to stay that way during the season. That would only serve to fuel developing systems or allow them to intensify.

Other atmospheric conditions are also expected to be more conducive for tropical systems, the report said.

Here are the numbers from the CSU forecast:

* Named storms: 23 (NOAA average is 14)

* Hurricanes: 11 (Average is 7)

* Major hurricanes: 5 (average is 3)

Here are the probabilities of a major hurricane (Categories 3-5) landfall:

* Entire continental U.S. coastline: 62 percent (average from 1880–2020 is 43 percent)

* U.S. East Coast Including Florida peninsula (south and east of Cedar Key, Fla.): 34 percent (average from 1880–2020 is 21 percent)

* Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle (west and north of Cedar Key, Fla.) westward to Brownsville, Texas: 42 percent (average from 1880–2020 is 27 percent)

The report also said there was a 66 percent probability for “at least” one major hurricane tracking through the Caribbean. The average is 47 percent.

The CSU report is no flash in the pan. CSU researchers have been forecasting tropical activity for decades. This early forecast is based on a statistical program that uses about 40 years worth of data, the report said.

“This model guidance is unanimously pointing towards a hyperactive season,” the report said.

See the full Colorado State University outlook here.

CSU will update its hurricane outlooks on June 11, July 9 and Aug. 6 before transitioning to two-week outlooks during the seasonal peak from August to October.

NOAA typically issues its hurricane outlook in mid- to late May.