"May 9, 2006— Some early signs are beginning to roll in suggesting the 2006 hurricane season will not be the record that 2005 was, say climate researchers.

The latest hopeful sign is the recent demise of the hurricane-boosting La Niña condition in the Pacific. After that is the storm-fueling sea surface temperature in the Atlantic, which is not so hot this year.

Satellite sensors and ocean buoys show that the La Niña condition — the vast pooling of unusually cool surface water in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean — which formed late last year is now almost entirely gone. And while that does not guarantee a hurricane-free year, it's a good sign that the worst possible hurricane-making scenarios are not in the offing."