Hurricanes are some of the deadliest storms on the planet, and scientists predict they'll pack even stronger punches as climate change advances. After forming over tropical oceans, these tempests wreak havoc once they make landfall, bringing with them winds of up to 140 miles (225 kilometers) per hour, storm surges and even tornados. As hurricanes approach the shore, satellites and weather radar can help project when and where a storm will hit. But forecasters have been stumped when it comes to predicting when they'll hit peak strength. New research promises to solve this problem by keeping tabs on – of all things – lightning, which until recently, was believed to be rare in such storms.

AccuWeather.com, a private weather forecasting organization, has released its predictions for this year's impending hurricane season. The good news?  Half as many tropical storms in the Atlantic as last year are expected to slam U.S. shores this year. The bad news? That’s still four tempests making landfall between June 1 and November 30, the annual Atlantic hurricane season.

The projected dip stems from, among other factors, a weak El Nino weather pattern this year caused by warmer water temps in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, Joe Bastardi, AccuWeather's chief long range and hurricane forecaster, told Reuters.

Thinking about relocating? Forget the proximity of good schools, trendy shopping and green space. You might want to take a look at a new “hazard map” of the U.S., which spells out by geographic region the likelihood of dying from floods, earthquakes or other natural dangers.

Geographers from the University of South Carolina in Columbia determined how common deaths from natural hazards were in different regions of the country, using information from the Spatial Hazard Event and Loss Database, which culls deaths and economic losses from weather in the U.S. (Here's the abstract of what some are calling the "death map" study.) They examined 11 categories of hazards between 1970 and 2004: winter weather (such as frigid temps and blizzards), mass movements (such as landslides and avalanches), coastal and geophysical events (such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis), flooding, heat and drought, hurricanes and tropical storms, lightning, severe weather (combinations of hail, wind and rain), tornadoes and wildfires.

Hurricane Paloma is increasing in intensity as it approaches the Cayman Islands, where the storm is expected to make landfall by late tonight or early tomorrow.

Paloma is a Category 1 hurricane with winds gusting near 80 miles (130 kilometers) per hour. But it could strengthen to a “major” Category 2 storm later today, and possibly ratchet up to a Category 3 tempest by tomorrow, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Category 2 hurricanes bring winds of 96 to 100 miles (154 to 177 kilometers) per hour, and Category 3 storms carry winds of 111 to 130 miles (178 to 209 kilometers) per hour, per the Safir-Simpson scale.

Tropical storm Hanna is fixing to drench the eastern U.S. this weekend, and with an even bigger tempest, Ike, in her wake, this month is shaping up as the stormy September predicted by atmospheric scientists.

Hanna will be a Category 1 hurricane when she hits Georgia around 8 tonight, according to AccuWeather. If the storm's forecasted route holds, the hurricane will reach the Carolinas by tomorrow morning and the Mid-Atlantic region and New England by Sunday.

Ike, following close behind, is expected to pack an even stronger punch than Hanna. Already a Category 3 hurricane in the Atlantic, Ike is expected to blow into Florida by Wednesday morning; at that point, AccuWeather says, it may have lost some of its gusto and become a Category 2 tempest.