In the kind of season that is anticipated, an average of two or three hurricanes make landfall in the U.S., scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

The prediction, while threatening, slightly downgrades the predicted hurricane activity from the seasonal outlook the agency issued in May, in which eight to 10 hurricanes were foreseen.

Some scientists have suggested that the recent numbers and intensity of hurricanes may be an outcome of global warming. But Gerry Bell, lead meteorologist at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, said that “the work done so far doesn’t allow us” to determine how much of the storm activity is the result of global warming.