Last year was the most destructive hurricane season in history and this year forecasters are expecting at least 9 hurricanes, with 5 of them being major ones. With these recent years being such active hurricane seasons, why does it seem like the U.S. is getting hammered by such horrific storms?

With these recent years being such active hurricane seasons, why does it seem like the U.S. is getting hammered by such horrific storms? Some scientists say it's part of a naturally occurring cycle while others have made the claim global warming is to blame.

Some scientists say it's part of a naturally occurring cycle, while others have made the claim global warming is to blame. Two of the foremost weather and ocean scientists believe that this is all part of the cycle of nature.

Also, after analyzing data, they believe that the salinity and currents of the Atlantic Ocean play a large role in the formation of hurricanes on the East and Gulf Coasts.

The latest calculations anticipate that this coming season there's an 81 percent chance of a major hurricane. While right now these numbers are predictions, they are based on science and research - so it never hurts to be prepared.

A ball-lightning-like plasma cloud is produced in an underwater discharge. (Photo: D. Lange, IPP)

Ball-lightning is described as a luminous phenomenon occurring during thunderstorms. It is a mystery, however, that they should be visible not as a brief flash, i.e. just for microseconds, but exist for several seconds, i.e. a hundred thousand times as long as a flash of lightning. Besides such famous figures as the Roman philosopher Seneca, Pliny the Elder, Charlemagne and Henry II of England, in modern times the Nobel Prize winners in physics, Niels Bohr and Pjotr Kapitza, claim to have observed this phenomenon. Less renowned observers also report unexpected encounters with ball-lightning; the internet features more than a million entries on the subject. On the other hand, the phenomenon is so rare that there are still no reliable data available. Accordingly, doubtful attempts at interpretation are rampant, ranging from black holes to mini nuclear explosions and esoteric explanations.