Do you have a holiday booked? Or are you planning a holiday before the end of the year? The question is – have you thought about the risk of a hurricane at your holiday destination?

June 1 marked the official beginning of what scientists expect to be a particularly strong hurricane season. The National Weather Service forecasts an 85 percent chance that the 2010 season will be “above normal.”

Colarado State University Hurricane Forecasting Team (Reuters), predicted back in April that the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season will produce an above-average eight hurricanes, four of them major, posing a heightened threat to the U.S. coastline. The team also predicted 15 named tropical storms. The team forecast a 69% chance of at least one major hurricane making landfall on the U.S. coastline in 2010, compared with a long-term average probability of 52%. Major hurricanes pack powerful sustained winds of at least 111 miles per hour. For the Gulf Coast, from the Florida Panhandle west to Brownsville, Texas, the probability of a major hurricane making landfall was seen at 44% versus a long-term average of 30%. We have already seen the season’s first hurricane, Hurricane Alex.

The Colorado State University team also predicted a 58% chance of a major hurricane tracking into the Caribbean, where Haiti is vulnerable after a devastating January 12 earthquake that left more than a million people homeless.

Another forecaster, AccuWeather.com, last month also forecast a potentially “extreme” hurricane season this year, with “above-normal threats” to the U.S. coastline.

So if you are thinking of holidaying in the US or the Caribbean, this is something that you really need to think about. Make sure that you check that you book your holiday outside of the hurricane season if at all possible. For example, in Florida, it is by November when there is less chance of hurricanes, but temperatures are still within the 18-26°C range, with six hours of sunshine. Also, make sure that you have comprehensive travel insurance in case you need to make a change to your holiday as a result of hurricane activity.