SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- This year's hurricane season will likely be worse than usual, though not as severe as 2005, a U.S. hurricane expert said Thursday.

A record 27 tropical storms formed last year, with seven becoming major hurricanes, including Katrina and three others that hit the United States.

"I think everybody is going to say we're going to have an above-average season here," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

He said the new hurricane season, beginning June 1, would not likely set a new record but the center's scientists were witnessing a trend of stronger and more frequent storms.