Hurricane season begins today in the Atlantic and Central Pacific, and a burgeoning El Niño is expected to dominate both regions, tamping down the numbers of named storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic while amplifying them in the Central Pacific, including for Hawaii. More: https://bit.ly/4o4lT0X

Typhoon Jangmi had an awesome mesovortex over the weekend.

When you check the forecast, do you ever think to check the Sun? Space weather begins with the Sun—and while invisible to the naked eye, it can impact satellites, communications systems, power grids, and even astronaut safety. ☀️🚀

New published paper by @ncar-ral.bsky.social scientist Shima Shams in #AGU Earth and Space Science: "Characterizing #Aerosol Modes and Uncertainty in #VIIRS Aerosol Optical Depth Retrievals Over Africa Using #AERONET" agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/... #AOD #NASA #AerosolOpticalDepth

🌎 Explore, Learn, Connect - RAL Seminar Series 🌎 ☀️ NO-HEAT: Integrating Microclimate Modeling & Transportation Planning for Resilient Urban Futures ☀️ Rounaq Basu, Asst. Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology ☀️ MON, June 8 | 1-2 PM (MT) | Free hybrid ral.ucar.edu/events/2026/...

🎉Congratulations Cole Hartman! 2026 Halaby Graduate Fellow✈️ His research addresses where & when convectively induced turbulence poses the greatest risk to aircraft operations. He’ll continue advancing this work to improve aviation safety & targeted risk assessment. ral.ucar.edu/opportunity/...

The 31st Annual CESM Workshop is almost here! In-person registration closes June 5. Join us for plenaries by Duncan Watson-Parris & James Done, plus sessions on storytelling, ML, Earth system prediction & high-res CESM. Registration: www.eventsquid.com/mobileapp.cf...

“This is important for better forecasting of severe weather for a major agricultural region and helping with long-term prediction of storm patterns weeks or even months in advance.” said NSF NCAR RAL scientist Zhe Zhang. Read more! news.ucar.edu/133070/field...

Have you ever noticed symbols like blue triangles or red semicircles on a weather map and wondered what they mean? 🌦️

🎉 FastEddy® 5.0 🥳 Announcing the latest release of this community, open source GPU-based model. Extensions include nesting to LES from FastEddy, nesting within MPAS mesoscale model, virtual towers & more. Try it now! ral.ucar.edu/fasteddy Full story: ral.ucar.edu/news/introdu...

🌟 Congratulations Dustin Swales - DTC PROUD Award winner! 🌟 Physical Scientist, NOAA GSL. He made indispensable scientific, technical, & leadership contributions to the DTC Common Community Physics Package (CCPP) project. More on his accomplishments & impacts! dtcenter.org/news/dustin-...

Wildfires are commonly characterized by the total number of acres burned rather than the rate at which they spread. However, studying the speed of a fire adds another important dimension that can help scientists better understand, manage, and prevent fires in the future. 🔥

Experience fluxART. Join us for a special Explorer Series event discovering creative insights and sharing multimedia artwork w/ Faculty Fellow Maoya Bassiouni & artists Julia Oldham & Mallery Quetawki. 🗓️: Wednesday, May 27, 7:00 – 8:30 P.M. MDT 📍: Mesa Lab and online webcast https://bit.ly/4nILVXp

🌎The 1st International Symposium on Earth System Modeling (#EarthSym) is coming up in Brazil, bringing together researchers to advance understanding of Earth’s interconnected systems. CGD scientists David Lawrence, Stephen Yeager, Yaga Richter, Meg Fowler & Maria Molina are participating.

WWA's latest rapid assessment is on the 2025-2026 extreme #snowdrought in CO, UT, and WY. The assessment covers the magnitude of extreme low snow-water equivalent (SWE) conditions in early 2026, likely causes of the snow drought, and more. wwa.colorado.edu/resources/ha... @cires.colorado.edu

CONGRATS Victor Weeks! Selected as a 2026 Fellow in the Better Scientific Software Fellowship Program. Victor's project explores responsible integration of AI into scientific software development, helping advance quality, reproducibility, & innovation in scientific computing. bssw.io/pages/meet-o...

With the rainy weather this week in Boulder, we can’t help but enjoy the Mesa Lab in the fog! In fact, the Mesa Lab’s site was chosen for advantages studying particular atmospheric phenomena like storms & mountain air currents– overall, it’s an excellent research environment! https://bit.ly/4ujIsB3

Extreme heat is more than just uncomfortable, it’s a serious health risk 🥵🔥 This week (18-22 May) is #HeatSafety Week! Join us, partnering with heat.gov for important tips to keep you, your family, and your community safe this summer. Read here: https://bit.ly/4uZP3k0

Museums help connect us to the world around us—and at the @ncar-ucar.bsky.social Mesa Lab Visitor Center, discovery is happening every day! ✨🔬

#ICYMI For TEDxBoulder, NSF NCAR scientist Yaga Richter breaks down how science and society are intertwined, exploring how the Earth system is deeply interconnected and why we need to study it for a resilient future. https://bit.ly/4u4B0JK

We had a great time yesterday at Operation Water Festival!💧 Hosted by the City of Boulder, this event brought local students together for a day of interactive learning all about water—from drinking water treatment and conservation to ecosystems, geology, and the science of water on Earth!

Calling all K-12 educators! 🌸 The USA National Phenology Network wants your input as we develop new K-12 resources focused on student phenology data collection. Complete our short survey to share your experience and interest in bringing phenology into the classroom.

DTC Seminar Now! 1-2 PM (MT) ✨🌐 Siwei He presents: ✨🌐 Evaluating Noah-MP Snow and Soil Processes over the Montana Mesonet See you there! dtcenter.org/events/semin...

🌐✨Expand Your Horizons✨🌐 Join us for the next DTC Seminar featuring Siwei He, Montana State University, presenting “Evaluating Noah-MP Snow and Soil Processes over the Montana Mesonet” Monday, May, 11 2026, 1-2 PM (MT) Free hybrid event Learn more! dtcenter.org/events/semin...

Remember the 2016 ORCAS campaign that studied the Southern Ocean? Gliding around Antarctica, the NSF NCAR Gulfstream V was outfitted w/ special instruments to collect data on the Southern Ocean’s capacity to uptake carbon. This year, that same data was used to inform a new study.. [📸: Jonathan Bent]

We still have a few spots open for summer field trips this July and August!

Congrats to NSF NCAR’s Sarah Gibson for being elected to the National Academy of Sciences! Her work uses models and observations of the Sun, tackling problems from short-term dynamic eruptions to decadal variation of the solar magnetic cycle. Her recognition is well-deserved! https://bit.ly/4w7zaJL

Happy #TeacherAppreciationDay! Today we’re celebrating the educators who inspire curiosity, spark discovery, and help students connect to the world around them. 🌎 Thank you for everything you do!

Introducing NSF NCAR’s Medium-Range, Real-Time Convective Hazard Forecasts, a tool leveraging AI weather models to improve predictions of potential tornadoes, hail & damaging winds up to a full week in advance. The experimental forecasts are run daily & are available online. https://bit.ly/3OZJ4fG

Join us for the annual Earth Day, Every Day celebration hosted by the Cities of Lafayette and Louisville tomorrow, May 2, from 10 am-2 pm. Bring your friends and family to this free event, open to all ages. From food trucks to a scavenger hunt, there is something for everyone!

Recordings from the 106th Annual Meeting are now open for public access! Take a look at the leading-edge science and important discussions that took place in January. We look forward to seeing you next year at #AMS2027 in Denver, CO, 10–14 January 2027: https://bit.ly/49vV2Uo

Last chance to join us TODAY! Don’t miss our Rising Heat professional development workshop happening this afternoon—designed to help educators explore the science of extreme heat and how it impacts our communities.

🤩 We’re excited to share that the DTC Visitor Program is now accepting applications! This is a great opportunity for researchers to collaborate & contribute to advancing modeling, evaluation, & software tools. Learn more & apply! dtcenter.org/news/dtc-vis...

✈️ ICYMI: NSF NCAR recently highlighted the launch of the Domestic Aviation Forecast System (DAFS), a major step forward in aviation weather. Generating more detailed forecasts of evolving icing & turbulence risks, giving pilots real-time flight path conditions. 👉 news.ucar.edu/133066/new-a...

Call for abstracts! On August 4-6, NSF NCAR is hosting the 2026 S2S Land-atmosphere Interactions Workshop & we invite presenters to submit abstracts for poster and oral presentations.

NSF NCAR supports two state-of-the-art “sky lab” aircraft-- but what’s the difference? Let’s break down the stats for the NSF NCAR C-130 versus the NSF NCAR Gulfstream V (GV) and explore just what makes these two aircraft unique and specially-suited for different research projects:

Yesterday was the birthday of I.M. Pei, the Mesa Lab's architect! Nestled against the Flatirons, the Mesa Lab’s design was influenced by the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings, evidenced in the concept sketch. Pei & Walter Orr Roberts,1st director of NSF NCAR, stayed friends beyond their time at the center.

If you’re local to #Colorado, consider enjoying #ArborDay with a visit to the Mesa Lab’s forested Walter Orr Roberts Weather Trail. 🌲 Located behind the building, you can walk the weather trail, shaded by evergreens, and enjoy the stops that describe weather events & our research around them.

Looking for in-person teacher professional development opportunities over the summer? Join us June 9-10, 2026, for From Fossils to Forecasts and explore Colorado's ancient past, present, and future!

Happy Earth Day! 🌎 Today is a chance to pause and get curious about the planet we call home! From the air we breathe to the water we rely on, Earth is full of systems, stories, and connections waiting to be explored.

From the ocean to the exosphere, we’re dedicated to advancing Earth system science for the betterment of society– not just on #EarthDay but every day! 🌎 Our experts harness observations, models, instruments, HPC & other resources to ensure NSF NCAR supports cutting-edge research.

Join Us Today! 1-2 PM (MT) 🎯 Michelle Harrold, John Halley Gotway, Christina Kalb presents: 🎯 METplus: A Community Framework for Flexible and Reproducible Model Evaluation 🌎 RAL Seminar Series - Explore, Learn, Connect 🌎 Watch Live: ral.ucar.edu/live

On 4/23/26, the Longmont Museum is hosting a special Explorer Series film screening of Gathered in Darkness, a documentary produced about the Citizen CATE 2024 mission. After the film, hear from the lead scientists & filmmaker about the filming & data collection process. https://bit.ly/3QbN11a

Thunderstorms are powerful, complex, and surprisingly common—there are about 2,000 happening around the world at any given moment! ⛈️ However, not all thunderstorms are the same! Thunderstorms can be categorized by convection cell structure, or by the location they form and the reason the air rises.

🌎 Explore, Learn, Connect - RAL Seminar Series 🌎 🎯 METplus: A Community Framework for Flexible & Reproducible Model Evaluation 🎯 Michelle Harrold, John Halley Gotway, Christina Kalb NSF NCAR RAL, DTC 🎯 WED, April 22 | 1-2 PM (MT) | Free hybrid event! Show me more! ral.ucar.edu/events/2026/...

April is #VolunteerMonth! Did you know AMS has over 140 boards and committees advancing our work across many fields🌻? On AMS Headlines, we speak with the heads of two major commissions to learn more about what these volunteers do: https://bit.ly/4com0is

We’re excited to be part of Party for Our Planet at the Children’s Museum of Denver this Friday! 🌎

We’re looking for community input! During the last two weeks of April, we are hosting AI Community Engagement Workshops, seeking input on AI and machine learning in Earth system science. There will be twelve 90-minute sessions on six topics. ⏰ Register by 5p.m. MT tomorrow https://bit.ly/4te00ht

Field trips to the @ncar-ucar.bsky.social Mesa Lab for the Fall 2026 semester are now open!

🌍 Learning from Machine Learning for Better Earth System Understanding 🗓 Apr 14, 2026 | ⏰ 3–4 pm MDT | Why do forecasts change weeks out? In this Explorer Series talk, Kirsten Mayer (CGD) shares how ML is improving subseasonal weather prediction and helping scientists understand forecast accuracy.