(RALEIGH) -- Hurricane season is fast approaching and the experts at Colorado State University are predicting that there will be 16 named storms this Atlantic season. Ryan Boyles, a climatologist at NC State, says that doesn't mean any of them will affect our state.

Boyles says hurricane prediction is an inexact science when it comes to predicting when they will form and where they will go. He says that other than the number of storms, everything else is, at best, a guess.

While no one in the Carolinas ever wants a direct hit, these storms do serve a purpose. They provide a significant percentage of our summertime rainfall, and can keep the state out of debilitating drought conditions.

Hurricane season officially begins June 1.