Similar for me. One was a WWII vet on disability, and the other was (also a WWII vet) and a steel worker afterwards. Both had mental health issues and died before I was born.
04.03.2026 23:04
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Similar for me. One was a WWII vet on disability, and the other was (also a WWII vet) and a steel worker afterwards. Both had mental health issues and died before I was born.
Congress has appropriated the funds to NSF but OMB is delaying the release. When funds are released, NSF, which has lost almost 1/5 of its staff, will struggle to evaluate proposals. Since they have to award the funds, big projects with established PIs will benefit. This is how US science dies.
Sometimes I wonder what my motivation is at this stage in my career. And it's this. Making sure small-minded men die mad about my inclusion. And propping the door open for as many smart and kind people as I can.
On a busy day for science policy, it looks like oversight and operations of NCAR’s supercomputing center are transitioning to a third-party operator. www.nsf.gov/news/transit...
Lean more about the costs of dismantling NCAR with this opinion from @carlonimbus.bsky.social.
Thanks for the recap! I’m really sad that I didn’t get to meet you and everyone on the panel in person.
A line graph of the number of NSF awards for 2021-2026 for the Directorate of Geosciences.
5/9
How cold has this winter been so far? The first 2/3 of winter 2025-26 is the 7th warmest on record for the Contiguous U.S.
I personally believe that if GHGs led to global cooling, we would have fixed the problem already.
Group of runners on a cold morning
Picture of an Igloo on VT campus
Group of people inside an igloo
Scenes from a snowy run in Blacksburg this morning
Our public school has been open 12 days since 12/19 too, but with illnesses, our child has had 6.5 days of school. We also had a lot of snow days in December.
It looks relatively warm there 😁
Want to learn about a new composite parameter for forecasting QLCS tornadoes? Come to my #AMS2026 talk at 2:00 pm in 381A! You can also read the journal article about this work at: journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...
Another image showing the thick layer of sleet on top of snow in Blacksburg
Picture of wintry precipitation scene in Blacksburg VA, with a gloved hand holding a thick layer of sleet.
Wow, I’ve been outside now, and we have almost 2 inches of sleet on top of the snow here in Blacksburg. Sleet has 2-1 or 3-1 ratio to liquid (rain). That’s a lot of wintry precipitation!
Atmospheric sounding for Blacksburg, VA on Saturday evening, January 25, 2026.
Two images are shown. There is an atmospheric sounding for Blacksburg, VA from Saturday evening on the left and a graphic showing ice and snow habits on the right.
I noticed a lot of needles mixed in with the more classic snowflake (dendrite) in last night's snow here in Blacksburg. Model and observed soundings show a similar picture with a cold surface, temperatures mainly between 0 and -10°C within the cloud, and a lackluster dendritic growth zone.
Attention folks in the weather, climate, disaster, wildfire, and Earth science communities: NSF has just published a new "Dear Colleague" letter inviting feedback (by Mar 13) on the proposal to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). www.nsf.gov/funding/...
Flyer for the REMUS program that shows the priority deadline for applications of February 8, 2026. The REMUS program will happen May 26 - July 31, 2026. Contact proj-remus@charlotte.edu with questions!
Are you an undergraduate student interested in gaining research experience this summer? If so, please consider applying to the Research Experiences and Mentorship in Urban Systems (REMUS) program at UNC Charlotte! We are a multidisciplinary REU program that explores many facets of urban science!
From @AGU.org: Senators are working on legislation to save NCAR, but we need extra support for these 8 states. Your Senators in Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas, and Wyoming need to hear from you.
I've got thoughts.
WTAF?!
Also, for the love of God, can we not refer to NCAR As a “climate lab?” It does a hell of a lot more than just climate.
The webpage for the agency responsible for disaster management in this country still lists as its director a guy who resigned a month ago, and shows 6 of the other 9 senior positions as vacant. This is emblematic of the situation at FEMA, and we better wake up about it. tinyurl.com/yc5d9uch
The @dtc-community.bsky.social just released a new call for visitor program proposals targeted at early-career scientists and grad students. The focus is on advancing hierarchical system development principles for NOAA’s modeling systems (which can include MPAS)! dtcenter.org/visitor-prog...
“The storm hit rural Jamaica hardest – people who are poorest, least protected, and historically marginalised. The same communities shaped by slavery, colonial extraction, and racialised policies are now on the frontline of climate disaster.”
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/no...
Map of Jamaica showing percentage of population living in poverty in 2012, which is minimal near the coasts (a few %) and maximized in the hilly interior (~40%). There isn’t even a major highway running that far west. Map source: https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/236781584080916414
Echoing colleagues: Think before you (re)post. #Melissa is about to impact a relatively poor part of Jamaica. I doubt we will know the true extent of the devastation for days or weeks.
Information vacuums fill with disinformation. Expect a lot of “breaking wind” on SM.
Map source: World Bank
#Melissa's landfall intensity of 185 mph/892 mb ties it with the Florida Key's Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 as the record minimum pressure of any TC making landfall *anywhere* the NATL basin. I feel for the residents of #Jamaica 😞
Zoomed in G19 visible meso loop courtesy of @cyclonicwx.bsky.social
The western end of Jamaica where #Melissa is projected to make landfall has the least well-built structures of anyplace on the island. Graphic is from a 2021 paper, "Poverty and hurricane risk exposure in Jamaica": www.researchgate.net/publication/...
During an event like this a couple of years ago, I decided to become a sustaining member. Highly recommend to anybody who uses Levi’s website regularly!
www.patreon.com/cw/Tropicalt...
Hurricane #Melissa Advisory 24: Melissa Now a Category 5 Hurricane. Destructive Winds and Storm Surge and Catastrophic Flooding Will Worsen On Jamaica Through the Day and Into Tonight. http://hurricanes.gov