By Clint Thompson
The end of this year’s tropical season officially ended on Nov. 30. It marked the end to an unexpectedly quiet season for Southeast producers who, thankfully, did not have to brace for a tropical storm or hurricane.
It was a surprising development, says Pam Knox, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension agricultural climatologist.
“I’m a little bit surprised just because it’s been so active over the past decade or so. I think the last year we didn’t have any Gulf storms was 2015, so again, it’s been quite a while,” Knox said. “It does happen from time to time, and the pattern showed up this year with the Bermuda high off farther to the east. So the winds that were directing the storms around pulled everything up to the north before it could hit the U.S. coast.
“That’s just the way it set up this year, and next year it’s probably going to be different. Next year it could go to Texas or come closer and go to the east coast or hit Louisiana again. We just don’t know. Every year is different. It’s hard to predict those wide scale patterns.
“I don’t think we’re likely to have it the same next year. I think next year will be something different. It’s hard to get the same thing two years in a row with any weather pattern.”