As far as tornado and hurricane seasons go, 2009 was quieter than normal and 2010 has been so far. Weather forecasters are warning however, that 2010's tornado and hurricane seasons should be big ones, due to El Niño and a wetter than normal winter.

El Niño is a weather phenomenon that pushes warm air into the west coast, and pushes moisture into the interior of North America. The Weather Channel's severe weather expert Greg Forbes, said Tuesday that similar El Nino winters in the past almost always resulted in tornados in spring.

"The average was 9% more tornadoes than a typical year," he said.

Greg Carbin of the Norman, OK Storm Prediction Center agreed. Carbin told the Associated Press that thunderstorms and extreme weather will start as soon as the temperatures start to rise.

Despite the experts predicting a busy tornado season, the National Weather Service has so far only reported 44 tornadoes in 2010. By this time of year, the average is 162.

Hurricanes also figure into the El Nino predictions. "This year has the chance to be an extreme season," said Accuweather.com's hurricane expert, Joe Bastardi. Bastardi was on the record for predicting the unusally snowy winter in 2009-2010. Bastardi believes that 2010's hurricane season (which begins June 1) will be very busy. Accuweather.com predicts 16 to 18 tropical storms during the season (average is 11), of which Bastardi believes five will be hurricanes, with two or three making landfall in the United States.