Gulf Coast may face more hurricanes

With two devastating hurricanes hitting the southern coast of the United States over four weeks, the number of major tropical storms and hurricanes forming in the Atlantic Ocean has already reached 17 and the season has another two months to go.

The largest number of storms in one season since records were kept is 21, logged in 1933, according to the World Meteorological Association.

Given recent weather patterns, more serious storms could be on the way until the end of the season, which runs from about mid-June to early December, according to Max Mayfield, director of the US National Hurricane Center in Miami.