This year’s tropical storm season has only produced seven storms so far, yet they have had quite the impact and another one is on the way!
It now has the potential to develop into Hurricane Helene before reaching the Gulf of Mexico early Thursday.
It could become a Category Three Hurricane with wind speeds reaching at least 111 miles per hour. The Florida panhandle, Alabama, and Georgia are forecast to see the largest rainfall amounts, which may lead to significant flooding.
USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says that it comes at a time when the majority of the region’s cotton crop is most vulnerable.
According to Rippey, “Georgia, a significant cotton production state, has 68% of the bolls open on September 22nd, and again, we will carefully watch that in the days ahead as this tropical system barrels toward the southeastern U.S.”
When open cotton bolls are rained on, moisture is absorbed by the lint, making it heavier. This ultimately impacts yield quantity as well as quality.
