THE chances of Bermuda getting hit by a major hurricane this season are higher than normal, experts warn.

Colorado State University forecasters say that the US east coast is almost twice as likely to be hit by a major storm this year ? with the risk of one making landfall in Bermuda also "higher than normal".

Meteorologist Philip Klotzbach said: "We haven't run any predictions for Bermuda specifically, but if the chances of one making landfall in the US are higher than normal, then the chances of Bermuda suffering from a hit are also higher than normal."

The university's team of scientists predict there will be as many as nine hurricanes ? five of them major ? along with 17 named storms this season, which runs until the end of November.

They said the increased likelihood of hurricane damage this year was because of "favourable steering currents".

The US National Hurricane Centre last week projected that as many as six major hurricanes would emerge from 13 to 16 named tropical storms in the Atlantic this season. It said ten would become hurricanes, meaning winds will exceed 74 mph. Tropical storms are named once winds reach 39 mph.