The prediction by Dr. William Gray, comes after he wrongly predicted 1993 as a bad year for hurricanes and storms.

In particular, Bermuda managed to escape any problems, although the most severe Atlantic hurricane, Emily, passed within a few hundred miles of the Island in late August.

But Dr. Gray believes the factors that prevented 1993 being a bad season will lessen, allowing Atlantic hurricanes to flourish next year. He has predicted six hurricanes and two intense hurricanes with the same power as Hurricane Andrew or Hurricane Hugo.

And he is predicting some potentially severe damage from the hurricanes in the Atlantic.

Dr. Gray, of Colorado State University, has forecast hurricane activity with great accuracy over the past decade.

He blames this year's failure on the fact that an El Nino, which means warming of the ocean temperatures, was present off the coast of Peru.

Dr. Gray said: "A weakening El Nino would have caused ocean temperatures to cool, which would create more favourable conditions for increased hurricane activity in the Atlantic Ocean.'' However the warm-water pattern has confounded his and other predictions by remaining in the eastern Pacific Ocean for the past three years, thwarting hurricane activity.

"The bad news is we can't expect it to last much longer. Historical records going back to the 1850s show that above-average water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific have never lasted more than four years, said Dr. Gray.

"We expect the warm-water pattern to dissipate by next season, which likely would result in more hurricane activity.'' Dr. Gray forecast six hurricanes and two intense hurricanes during the season which officially ended on Tuesday, by which time only four hurricanes and Hurricane Emily had formed.

For 1994 he is predicting storm activity that 110 percent of normal, he said: "Even if 1994 should prove to be an active hurricane season, there are no assurances that hurricanes will strike along the US or Caribbean coastlines or do much damage.

"However, we reiterate that the probability of damage for 1994 is slightly higher than the average for the last 40 years and is especially higher than it has been during the last three years.''