Still, March systems are "quite rare," according to Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University. Klotzbach said the only tropical cyclone ever recorded over the Atlantic in March was a Category 2 hurricane that hit the Leeward Islands and Caribbean in 1908.

His prediction somewhat falls in line with what meteorological consulting firm WeatherBell predicted in early February. Both predictions call for a near-normal hurricane season, but WeatherBell forecasts 15-19 named storms, with 7-9 of them becoming hurricanes.