An Atmospheric River And Stalled Low Force Co-SEC Softball Champions

The Southeastern Conference announced Saturday that Texas A&M and Oklahoma would be Co-champions for the SEC softball tournament. That decision was a not a result of injury, darkness, or other aspects of competition on the field. It was due to weather associated with a cutoff low and the influence of an atmospheric river.

The SEC softball tournament was being played at Jack Turner Stadium in Athens, Georgia. It was the first appearance of the Oklahoma Sooners as members of the conference. Unfortunately, much of the Southeast experienced persistent rainfall this weekend. The culprit is a cutoff low stuck over Louisiana serving as a moisture pump out of the Gulf.

Believe it or not, the West Coast is not the only part of the country that experiences atmospheric rivers, which are narrow plumes of water vapor that originate in more tropical regions. This weekend one of those rivers in collaboration with a stationary low was like a “firehose” of moisture into the South. Ironically, University of Georgia researchers have documented ARs that impacted the southeastern U.S. over the period 1979 to 2015. In that 2017 study of which I contributed, we found that ARs in the South are a “thing,” and unfortunately, the SEC softball championships found out too.

I certainly understand the decision by the SEC given the looming NCAA softball tournament selection show on Sunday, the weather scenario much of Saturday, and the conditions of the field. SEC Commissioner Sankey issued a statement Saturday proclaiming Oklahoma and Texas A&M Co-champions. That decision was accepted by some fans, but it did not sit well with other fans judging by responses in social media. My own daughter even texted asking what I thought of the decision.

The SEC was in a very difficult situation. At 6:56 am on Saturday morning, the National Weather Service in Atlanta wrote, “The first of these impulses is moving through Georgia this morning. A second wave should arrive this afternoon, then a third is expected Sunday. All in all the weekend looks like it will be cloudy with multiple rounds of rainfall.” That’s probably enough information to make the decision for the day.

However, there were several breaks in the rainfall on Saturday and even this Sunday morning. Unfortunately, that’s the nature of a weather pattern like this as “surges” of moisture flow into the region. As a meteorologist, I was monitoring the weather in Georgia for personal reasons. My son’s high school track and field team was competing in the second day of state championships. They were facing the same challenges in West Georgia that decisionmakers were dealing with in East Georgia.

While I saw speculation and frustration from fans and even suggestions the decision would not have been made for men’s baseball, the two coaches involved in the decision had a different take. Patty Gasso has won eight national championships at Oklahoma. She told the media that she and Texas A&M coach Trisha Ford discussed the scenario and agreed that there was too much at stake downstream with the upcoming NCAA tournament to risk playing in wet or muddy conditions. Speaking with The Oklahoman’s Ryan Aber, Gasso said, “We’re co-champions. … It doesn’t give us a big advantage one way or another. We just want to get on our charter flights before the weather gets worse and try to get home at a good hour because there’s too much at stake to play in this right now.”

Sure, there were likely windows that could have been leveraged to play, but the coaches clearly weighed in on the situation. With that context, hopefully things are clearer today even if our skies are not.