The Trump administration says it will dismantle a key climate-science center, while salvaging its forecasting capabilities. “Today, predicting the weather without considering the climate would be meteorological malpractice," Michelle Nijhuis argues.

A massive new report by over 100 scientists modeling the climate effects of the 2022 Hunga volcanic eruption finds "The record-high global surface temperatures in 2023/2024 were not due to the Hunga eruption": juser.fz-juelich.de/...

@bhensonweather.bsky.social spent most of his career working at NCAR. He writes, "Working at NCAR and UCAR was an enormous privilege and one of the great joys of my life. I gained a humbling appreciation for the intricacy of the atmosphere." yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/12/trum...

In case you want to share with your networks, this is a good article by the NYT on the broad scope of work done by NCAR and some of the key discoveries (e.g., microbursts and aviation accidents).

Quite a contrast... Warmest first half of December on record in Pacific NW, including Seattle and Portland. Among top 10 coldest in the Midwest and parts of the East, including Cleveland, Pittsburgh. (Data: SERCC)

NCAR is quite literally our global mothership. Everyone who works in climate and weather has passed through its doors and benefited from its incredible resources. Dismantling NCAR is like taking a sledgehammer to the keystone holding up our scientific understanding of the planet. Unbelievable.

It is hard to overstate how critical @ncar-ucar.bsky.social is to climate science in the US and around the world. It's the beating heart of our field. Generations of scientists have trained there, and almost everyone I know relies on deep collaborations with NCAR scientists. It's end is unthinkable.

Unbelievable. This would be a terrible blow to American science, writ large. It would decimate not only climate research, but also the kind of weather, wildfire, and disaster research that has underpinned half a century of progress in prediction, early warning, and increased resilience.

NCAR is crucial to cutting-edge meteorology and improvements in weather forecasting. As others have noted, it's far, far bigger than a "climate" research lab. This is self-sabotage by a wildly ignorant and malicious administration cutting off their nose to spite their face. Find a better scapegoat.

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.

These people are nuts. NCAR developed the GPS dropsonde, which revolutionized the understanding of TC structure, improved forecasts, and validated remote sensing platforms, as documented in over 400 peer-reviewed publications in the last 25 years. And that’s just one of NCAR’s countless advances.

Exclusive: The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, according to a senior White House official, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs.

It’s been observed that tropical cyclones have been migrating poleward in recent years, and climate change was suspected as a cause. But this study found SST patterns caused it, “and that future changes may differ markedly from the recent multi-decadal trends.” www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Just in from NOAA, 7 states had their record warmest "meteorological fall" dating to 1895. It was also America's third warmest "fall" in 131 years, just behind 2024 and 2016.

BREAKING: A tsunami as high as 10 feet could hit Japan's northeastern coast after an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.6 occurred offshore, the Japan Meteorological Agency said reut.rs/44iNwL0

This week marked the end of 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. It was comprised of... 13 named storms 5 hurricanes 4 major hurricane

So many stunning images from the 2025 hurricane season, but this pass into Category 5 Melissa's eye by Air Force Hurricane Hunters on October 27th might be the most breathtaking I've ever seen. (video via FlynonymousWX on X)

One thing that struck me about this hurricane season is just how conducive the western Atlantic was at its height. August wind shear is about as solid a predictor for seasonal activity as any. With Aug-Sep-Oct shear at record lows, a Melissa-like storm felt like a matter of time.

We can call the 2025 hurricane season a lot of things but quiet only applies to the U.S. Here's my recap of the tumultuous hurricane season that left no shortage of big records. ⬇️

Stunning lenticular #cloud over Mt. Washington #NHwx today!

Every Category 4 and 5 Atlantic hurricane since 2020, all together, in one group photo. H/t to @ferragamowx.bsky.social for the inspiration.

Or -xas. 😂 This makes now TWO senior officials performing the duties of administrator and the review council who concluded (and I can’t emphasize this next part enough) *against their own druthers*, we need FEMA, need to fund the agency, states can’t do this alone. I mean… 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

As a seasoned emergency manager who's overseen some of FEMA's biggest response and recovery plans, I can assure you this is nonsense. Reducing the 75/25 cost share and assuming states not ending in -orida have the capacity to manage major public assistance projects is naive and dangerous policy.

Hurricane Melissa produced the fastest hurricane winds to be recorded by a dropsonde, verified by reviewing data at NSF NCAR! Hurricane Melissa’s 252 mph wind gust surpassed the previous record from Typhoon Megi over the Western Pacific in 2010, where a dropsonde measured wind gusts of 248 mph.

Joining this shortly!

Writing isn't in my CV but I do a lot of it nowadays! I find writing done right the best way to message important science and forecasts. Looking forward to joining @mattlanza.bsky.social and @kmalloy.bsky.social tomorrow at 11:30 AM ET to discuss our approaches to striking a chord online.

Overlooking Pearl River near Bogalusa, LA @vincentledvina.bsky.social

Aurora color guide! What creates the different shades? Different atoms getting "excited" at different altitudes The bright reds are a sign of a particularly intense event

This is a wild stat. Great find @pppapin.bsky.social!

57˚ may not sound all that cold to many of you. But that was this morning's low in Key West, Florida, tying their "record coldest so early in fall" with four other dates in 1966, 1955, 1913.

This may be the coldest early November outbreak in parts of Florida and the Southeast since 1993. About 2 dozen daily record lows in jeopardy on Veterans Day. More deets: weather.com/forecast/reg...

Out of all the stats that will be in history books from Melissa, this is the most astounding to me. GLM data was recording a peak flash rate of 700 strikes per minute — nearly 12 per second — as it made landfall on Jamaica. That’s rewriting our understanding flash density in tropical cyclones.

Western Pacific in focus today as Kalmaegi has caused devastating flooding in Philippines and a new depression looks likely to threaten Luzon as a super typhoon this weekend. Also highlight @michaelrlowry.bsky.social post about just how poor GFS has been this hurricane season. tinyurl.com/du2smex7

We're hiring for a Software Engineer @cira-csu.bsky.social! I can personally attest to the team that the candidate would be joining - they're knowledgeable, humble, and genuine. If you are interested or know anyone that might be, reach out to me! PD here: jobs.colostate.edu/postings/168...

Today's my final routine newsletter of the hurricane season, so I thought I'd dig into the preliminary results of our forecast models. Google's DeepMind scorched the competition, but for America's flagship weather model, it was a season to forget.

And here is the same, but for all 13 storms in the entire season so far. "OFCL" is the NHC's forecast, and "GDMI" is the Google #DeepMind ensemble mean and is the leading model for both track and intensity this season. [2/3]

With #Melissa now an extratropical cyclone in the north Atlantic, here's a look at the preliminary track and intensity verification stats for the storm's 10-day lifetime. [1/3]

Glad there's a time change tonight

Unbelievable. This game.

Game-tying home runs to tie a game in the 9th inning of World Series Game 7: Miguel Rojas tonight End of list!

Holy smokes! Clinch!

Wow! Blue Jays playing with some 🔥 🔥

There's a decent chance that HURRICANE SEASON 2025 IS OVER. Hostile upper winds are increasingly dominating the tropics. If this is it, the season ends with near normal numbers EXCEPT for 3 Category 5's including Melissa, which was stunningly and tragically off the charts. More at HurricaneIntel.com

Here are updated verifications for 2025, AL/EP combined, EMXI not available. Impressed that NHC is beating everything, including consensus, for intensity, and everything but Google DeepMind (GDMI) for track. Rough year for GFS and the statistical intensity aids. Banner year for GDMI.

Melissa lifted the 2025 hurricane season to above average levels, sealing yet another comeback season after a bizarre peak-season drought. Bermuda saw winds to hurricane strength overnight, but today we finally bid Melissa adieu as it turns extratropical.

A look at the devastating power loss across Jamaica following the historic crossing of Hurricane Melissa, captured by NOAA-21.

I pack today's newsletter full of spectacular visuals of Melissa from @cira-csu.bsky.social and dig deep on why what they show us matters. "Superintensity," "phytoplankton," and "chlorophyll a" aren't typically part of the hurricane discussion, but they are today. ⬇️

Viewed by #CopernicusEU Sentinel satellites, hurricane #Melissa seen over the Caribbean, currently the strongest tropical cyclone of the year worldwide. Our thoughts are with everyone affected. Please follow guidance from local authorities and stay safe. @noaa.gov @euspa.bsky.social @eumetsat.int

Multi-panel view of the last few days of Hurricane Melissa: ↖️ GOES-19 infrared brightness temp ↗️ GOES-19 visible satellite ↙️ Hurricane hunter planes & flight paths ↘️ Recon-derived flight level wind swath ⬇️ Estimated minimum pressure from recon dropsondes

Regarding the sonde from yesterday morning with the 219-kt spot wind, highest dropsonde wind ever seen in a TC, AOML/HRD shared the raw data and I took a look this morning. They’ll have the final call, but I see nothing wrong with the ob and I suspect it’s going to hold up.