Tropical weather
-

In a surprise to many meteorologists, Tropical Storm Bertha formed just off the coast of South Carolina as it was coming onshore. Overnight last night the National Hurricane Center said that it had only a 30 percent chance of development, but by 7:30 Wednesday morning it was bumped up to 70 percent, and by 8:30…
-

It rained here in Georgia today. Not that unusual except that the rain came in from the southeast, which is not what we usually expect. The culprit is a tropical system, not organized enough to be named but carrying plenty of moisture with it, that has been drenching the Miami area today. (You can see…
-

Two new research studies on tropical cyclones (the generic name for hurricanes across the world) shows that hurricanes are getting stronger over time and are also forming farther from the equator, putting new populations at risk. These studies, both based on satellite observations, show that climate change is having an impact on the formation and…
-

The official NOAA forecast for the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season was released today. It’s no surprise that they predicted a 60 percent chance of an more active than average season, because four other groups have already predicted the same. The lack of an El Nino coupled with above-average ocean surface temperatures and being on the…
-

At 11 PM on Sunday the National Hurricane Center noted the official formation of Tropical Storm Arthur off the east coast of Florida. This makes the sixth year in a row that a named tropical storm has formed in the Atlantic basin prior to the official start of the season on June 1. Arthur is…
-

The National Hurricane Center’s map of 5-day potential tropical activity shows a wide region off the Atlantic Coast with a 70 percent chance of developing into a tropical system, although the chance in the next 48 hours is near zero. If this does develop into a tropical storm, it would be named Arthur, and would…
-

In the last two weeks I have received a couple of emails asking me about a new hurricane insurance program that is being offered to producers which will help cover agricultural losses in case of a hurricane passing over their farm. I can’t give you advice on whether or not it would be worth it,…