We knew winter would catch up to us eventually in the Midwest. It’s crazy that it will take almost the entire month before seasonal temperatures take hold. It’s also impressive the signal of change shows up in the forecast 2-3 weeks ahead.

Continued dry weather/drought this fall in the Midwest should prompt gardeners to insure evergreen trees and shrubs are well watered heading into winter to avoid any winter kill damage. 🌱

The Republican president is a pedophile who has doubled my healthcare costs and let scores of violent criminals out of jail. But a Democratic mayor-elect wants to make busses free in a city I don't live in. I have never felt more politically homeless.

From UNL Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Chair, Clint Rowe, on how the community can help make the case to the Univ. of Nebraska Board of Regents as to why their department should be retained:

Northern Lights at 715 pm CST from Eldridge (roughly the latitude of Interstate 80 in eastern Iowa).

Congrats to Miami, FL, for tying their record low for the date. This is their first record low since Feb 20, 2015. Since the previous record low, they have set or tied a daily high temp record 182 times. 2015: 14 2016: 11 2017: 13 2018: 6 2019: 27 2020: 24 2021: 9 2022: 21 2023: 36 2024: 14 2025: 7

This event was critical in the decline of apple industry in Iowa which had been one of the top producing states in the country.

So the Senate Democrat vote comes down to this, Fed employees likely missing a 3rd paycheck and SNAP recipients going without food vs health insurance rates going up hugely for some. It’s a NO-WIN situation made more challenging when you know people in each category.

Donald Trump’s approval rating has tanked and Republican suffered heavy losses in last week’s elections. There’s never been a better time for Senate Democrats to cave on the ACA extension.

First snow of the year and the dog is having fun with it (sound up) as are the neighborhood kids.

It’s that time of the year when the SPC Meso page winter weather parameters is worth a look.

Attn: @jamiboettch.bsky.social and other Norman friends.

“Tens or hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer-funded NASA property and laboratories are at risk of either being discarded, mishandled, or out-of-commission for significant time periods.” 🔭🧪 www.gesta-goddard.org/blog/gestas-...

Thought for the late night: The impact of and recovery from Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica sure fell off the news cycle quickly.

🔥🔥🔥A record warm October for the Arctic (60N to 90N) AND a record warm October for the Antarctic (60S to 90S). This is a disaster. 🔥🔥🔥

Australia has so much clean energy they're literally giving it away. Meanwhile, GOP is in all-out war to stamp out solar www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...

How to Avoid A Climate Disaster 1. Ignore Bill Gates on climate 2. Repeat #1 thebulletin.org/2025/10/you-...

Midway Airport has a better steak house than anything in the Quad Cities. At an airport! www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/29/g...

It's possible we might not need billionaire opinions on absolutely everything all the time billmckibben.substack.com/p/climate-ga...

Sorry Alabama, there is something just wrong with a mayo-based bbq sauce.

Weird

First birds (goldfinches) at the feeders which have been up for three weeks. This new neighborhood with homes still being built is an ecological desert. I’m impatient to turn it around but I’ll have to wait until spring to do so. Planted 50 native bare root plants and 200 bulbs. 🌱

“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.” ~Frank Lloyd Wright 🌱 #gardening #bloomscrolling #photograghy

My favorite climate data site, and the new cliMATE tool is IN-CREDIBLE.

Our annual fall color - apple and pumpkin picking fall extravaganza drive along the Upper Mississippi River Valley in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

📣 The "U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters" data is back today through @climatecentral.org! And more soon! ➡️ Explore our new interactive website at www.climatecentral.org/climate-serv..., which is now updated through the first half of 2025 & totaling over $101 billion from 14 events.

With cool weather finally arriving here in the Midwest, it’s fall planting season. Lots of native bare root plants plus loads of bulbs. Future pictures next spring. 🌱

Saw a railroad car with GREP spray painted on the side, and my immediate thought is what graffiti artist knows UNIX?

Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) doing its fall color thing. 🌱

This radar reflectivity image looks winterish. 51 degrees in light rain this morning in eastern Iowa.

Local newspaper reported 4000 attendees in Davenport. Hard to appreciate only from the photos here and other locations was at atmosphere of joyous solidarity with other people having the same positive vision for our country.

Not sure how many people showed up to today’s No Kings march in Davenport, but it exceeds the number from the previous pro-democracy rally. Line wound all around Vander Veer Park with more people in the park center. A frog, my “poster”, and a Lost Boy 🤣.

I’m ready for Saturday rain or dine.

Downtown Davenport Iowa across the Mississippi River as seen from Schwiebert Park in Rock Island Illinois.

OPM started laying off feds again yesterday - the administration and some Congressional leadership are acting like it's BECAUSE of the shutdown. I explain why that is nonsense and my concerns for how all this impacts federal science. Also discuss impactful wx East and West. tinyurl.com/yc7mtndv

Sad to see this in the town we lived in when I started in the NWS. Wife taught in the public schools which were the first to integrate in Mississippi. The Delta has lost fully 1/3 of its population due to economic and social reasons. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Who is processing all that paperwork if Feds are furloughed?

The Isabella Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia Isabella) and its larval form, the wooly bear caterpillar. Contrary to popular belief by some in the US, there is no correlation between the color of wooly bear bands (bands may be black or rust colored) and subsequent winter weather.

I wrote several papers about how bad corn ethanol was going to be around 2010, so I am not surprised. We should always remind ourselves that biofuels are complements not substitutes for fossil fuels, b/c they are used in ICEs and have limited scalability. They are a big ag and big oil PR mechanism.

A few things going on in the new garden. Aralia cordata Sun King, rock - rose mica, Diervilla Kodiak Orange, Taxus - yew with Heuchera Wildberry. 🌱

In the original Vox post (this is a gift link) there are several comments about how this is a distraction from going after big oil, but the reality is that big oil and big ag are very close allies. Their goal is the status quo, where they thrive. Their strategies (and PR firms) are often the same.

Federal workers provide weather forecasts for North Carolinians. Here’s how the shutdown could affect services during hurricane season.

Should have included a meme with this post.

Movie quote of the day. “I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass. And I’m all out of bubble gum.” Roddy Piper in They Live, a movie with metaphorical ties to today’s politics.

I see in social media a lot of people are anti-Christian, and for understandable and legitimate reasons. But don’t lose sight of the big picture and not acknowledge there are other Christians who are not nationalists, misogynistic, racist, etc. but are leading moral causes.

Haven’t read this yet but I know the author and read much of his previous writings to bet this is an insightful look into what has been and is going on in the rural Midwest (and similarly elsewhere).

Monty Python and the Holy Grail outdoors on a beautiful Friday evening along the Mississippi River at The Last Picture House in Davenport Iowa.

Hurricane #Humberto Advisory 9: Humberto Rapidly Strengthens to a Major Hurricane. Further Intensification Expected Over the Central Atlantic. http://hurricanes.gov

I have updated my earlier article to include recent reporting from Politico that OMB is including plans for mass federal layoffs in its shutdown guidance to agencies that could potentially impact NOAA and other science entities. Link to Politico article in post: tinyurl.com/bdedmty4