Jarrod O. Miller, Extension Agronomist, jarrod@udel.edu
According to the Colorado State Tropical Weather and Climate Research Page (https://tropical.colostate.edu/forecasting.html), we can expect a higher-than-normal hurricane season. They are projecting 23 named storms, of which five could be major hurricanes. While we won’t know until it happens, there is an expected development of La Nina this summer and warmer temperatures in the main development region for hurricanes pushing these forecasts (Figure below).
For late August/ early September, you can only watch and plan for a potential earlier harvest of corn, if a storm heads our way. If you are still planting corn, make sure to not plant too shallow for proper root development. For soybeans, lower populations should increase stem thickness. We have not observed differences in soybean (MG4.2) yields planted between 60-180,000 seeds per acre (https://sites.udel.edu/agronomy/2023/01/27/2022-soybean-yield-response-to-planting-populations-row-spacing-and-irrigation-in-delaware/)
Temperatures in 2005 and 2024 in the main development region for hurricanes. 2005 was a record hurricane season. https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/05/what-you-need-to-know-about-record-breaking-heat-in-the-atlantic/.