After a brutal 2017, IBM sees a quieter hurricane season this year — but here's why there's still reason to worry

Hurricane season is back. Could this year's tropical storm total approach last year's record-setting and destructive season?

At least for now, there are reasons to be optimistic: IBM's Weather Company currently predicts a total of 12 named storms, five hurricanes, and two major hurricanes. In 2017, there were 17 named storms, 10 hurricanes and 6 major hurricanes in the Atlantic basin.

In fact, the 2018 cycle's predictions are below what the IBM's Weather Company forecast last month, and below the annual average of 12 storms, 7 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes, compiled since 1950.