Overview of 2024 Tropical Cyclone Impacts on United States Agriculture

During the 8–11 July 2024 period, Category 1 Hurricane Beryl tracked into eastern Texas before weakening and tracking through the Midwest. Unequivocally, tropical cyclones are impactful in both beneficial and detrimental ways for U.S. agriculture, as the impacts depend on the status of the crop, the time of year, and the severity of the tropical cyclone. Recent literature investigated the impacts of tropical cyclones on agriculture by examining the weekly deltas in USDA crop condition ratings across the southern U.S. The impacts on crops along Hurricane Beryl’s path will be investigated by replicating prior methodology, using state and county-level USDA crop conditions, and yield data to quantify changes in conditions and yield prospects. Quantifying these impacts provides critical information for risk management among farmers, policymakers, and those in agribusiness to make decisions during the boreal summer growing season and on longer-term resilience against extreme weather perils.