2009 Year

On New Year's Eve in downtown Los Angeles, hotel lobbies were crowded with revelers and guests, many of whom were planning to attend the Rose Parade or Rose Bowl football game in Pasadena the next day. But the holiday crowds concealed the uncomfortable fact that the incoming year would probably not be a very good one for the hospitality business.

Two climatologists from Colorado State University, who have been scorned and respected for their hurricane season forecasts, took to the podium last week to discuss their predictions for 2009: Twelve named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes of Category 3 or worse. "Basically, an average hurricane season," Philip Klotzbach told attendees at the Governor's Hurricane Conference in the Broward County Convention Center.