HOUSTON—Privately-held Accuweather Inc. forecasts 2022 will be the seventh straight above-average Atlantic hurricane season seeing the formation of between three and five major hurricanes with sustained winds of at least 111 miles per hour (178 kph), said Dan Kottlowski, senior meteorologist. Those major hurricanes are forecast to be part of six to eight hurricanes with winds of at least 74 mph (119 kph) out of 16–20 tropical storms in 2022. said Kottlowski, who is Accuweather’s lead hurricane forecaster. Tropical storms have winds of at least 39 mph (63 kph). Between two and four of the storms could be expected to hit the U.S.-regulated northern Gulf of Mexico, home to the nation’s offshore oil and natural gas production and half of its refining capacity, he said. Warmer than average seas, which power storms, and the absence of an El Nino weather pattern that sends high winds across the southern United States …