Which tropical storm will blow up into a full Category 3 hurricane this year? Tony? Alberto? Helene?

According to preliminary reports by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2006 will be a perfect year for tropical storms. The north Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1 and lasts through November 30, and the weather professionals hope their predictions are closer than they were last year. Despite the active hurricane cycle that began in 1997, with nine of the following years demonstrating above-average storm activity, the NOAA predicted half as many storms and hurricanes in 2005 as there were. In fact, the year ended as the worst in history in terms of loss of life and economic destruction.

According to CNN, a storm is named when it reaches tropical storm strength, which means maximum sustained winds are 39 miles per hour or greater. When winds reach 74 miles per hour, the tropical storm becomes a hurricane.

Last year, the number of named storms (28) and hurricanes (15) broke records. Four Category 3 storms -- Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma -- devastated parts of the U.S. in 2005 with winds topping 111 miles per hour. There were so many named storms that the NOAA ran out of names and started to use Greek letters.

This year, the NOAA predicts 13 to 16 named storms and estimates that eight to 10 will evolve into hurricanes. Of those, about four should reach landfall in the U.S. -- about the same number of major hurricanes that struck the U.S. in 2005.

According to the U.S. Census' Facts for Features, the number of people residing in the areas that could be most affected by Atlantic named storms and hurricanes are in the coastal portions of North Carolina to Florida and around the Gulf of Mexico to Texas.

While the rest of the nation grew less than double in population since 1950, the Atlantic hurricane states grew a whopping 240 percent. Twelve percent of the U.S. population, or approximately 34.6 million people, resides in these areas in 2005. That's triple the population of those areas in 1950, when 10.2 million people lived in those areas, or seven percent of the nation's population.

Florida alone was responsible for the bulk of this increase with a growth in population of almost 15 million. In 2005, 17.3 million people constitute the coastal population of Florida, accounting for half of the coastal population of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas. Over 10.4 million reside along the Atlantic and 7.0 million along the Gulf. These areas have grown 487 percent in population since 1950 to 2000. Among the states along the Atlantic coast between North Carolina and Texas, Florida had the highest rate of growth in its coastal population over that period. The Sunshine State followed that up with 2.3 percent coastal population growth from 2004 to 2005, which again led the region. Today, Florida is so densely populated that there are 346 people per square mile in the coastal areas.

Port St. Lucie and Flagler, Fla. are the nation's reigning fastest-growing city and county , respectively. Both places are located along Florida's Atlantic coast. Similarly, Palm Coast , located between the Jacksonville, Fla., and Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Fla., metro areas, is the reigning fastest-growing micropolitan statistical area.

Three of the 20 most populous metro areas are located within Atlantic or Gulf coastal areas from North Carolina to Texas. These areas are Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Miami Beach, Fla. (sixth), Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, Texas (seventh); and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (20th).

Growing Atlantic population centers are a concern as the severity of storms puts more lives in danger. About 50 to 100 people are killed by hurricanes striking the U.S. coastline in an average three-year period. Last year, Hurricane Katrina caused more than 1,300 deaths and an estimated $100 billion in damage, making it the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history, according to the National Climatic Data Center, says CNN.

Contrary to popular belief, storm names aren't necessarily retired after they've been used. Alberto will be the name given to the first Atlantic storm of 2006. Some may recall that Tropical Storm Alberto, back in 1994, was the worst natural disaster in Georgia's history. The name was reused in 2000, and it will be used again this year. Other names include Leslie; Beryl; Michael; Chris; Nadine; Debby; Oscar; Ernesto; Patty; Florence; Rafael; Gordon; Sandy; Helene; Tony; Isaac; Valerie; Joyce; William; and Kirk.