The imminence heat from the Babylon Fire in southeastern Utah causes a pyrocumulonimbus cloud to form above it.

Notable and unusual severe weather risk for the Denver area for today and especially tonight. Storms initially develop 1-6p, but most likely the highest risk for severe storms will be after 9p tonight. Big hail, 60+ mph winds, a few tornadoes possible today + tonight. #COwx

Exclusive: The National Science Foundation is trimming this year’s budgets for hundreds of its traditional basic science programs by roughly 20% to 30%, even though its overall budget is down just 3%. https://scim.ag/4xY2KCm

The specific concentration of tornadic activity in Illinois and Indiana during June has been... unusual. This past weekend's latest twisters will officially push 2026 into the record book for highest confirmed number of annual tornadoes on record in Illinois (since 1950).

Concerning fire weather day today. We’ve had regular 60-70+ mph gusts in the foothills this morning, and it’ll be easily our hottest day so far this year across most of the state. Please be smart today, Colorado. #COwx

I just saw this when I opened slider - love it!! more whimsy in the world, plz 🥰

This is something I have never seen before on satellite. Clouds perfectly outlining roads. Just incredibly neat imagery of Houston, Texas this morning. Massive shoutout to Ethan Mok who discovered it (on Twitter).

I wrote something about creativity in science. Why would one write such a thing? That's the first question the piece addresses. There's general reasons, and then there's my current weird personal quest... deepconvection.substack.com/p/creativity...

1) pasta w/ tomato sauce, ground turkey, & frozen peas + salad 2) chopped chicken sausage (precooked!), broccoli, red/yellow potatoes, bell pepper on a sheet pan in the oven for ~35 minutes + avocado toast 3) egg roll in a bowl (using bagged coleslaw mix minus the dressing) + a side veggie

The trees didn’t get the memo to wait. My husband took video driving through a neighborhood with many downed limbs. #cowx

Increasingly concerned about the potential for widespread power outages for the foothills, and even some of the lower elevations. Boulder, Fort Collins highest probabilities in the metro area. #COwx

The defense also produced a memo from OMB in November with their intent to break up NCAR and why. Docs available on the federal PACER system. Defense docs didn’t get uploaded to www.courtlistener.com/docket/72496... but can be found from there.

Happy Earth Day! 🌎 To celebrate, consider streaming PBS NOVA's new "Rain Bombs" episode! You might recognize some familiar atmospheric scientists ;) I feel very fortunate to have played a small part in this episode. One of my most memorable career experiences so far!

🌬️ Be smart today, Colorado: Windy with high fire danger, 30-40 mph gusts this afternoon in Denver (stronger south/west) and warm, high in the low 80s.  🍃 Front Range foothills stay windy tonight, 50-60+ mph gusts (may include Boulder/Hwy 93). Cooler tomorrow in Denver. #COwx

Bennett Tornado (2025) by alum Naufal Razin

my hot (lol) take, based on 7 years living in Seattle, is that "cold rain" is actually anything below 50º and raining. 😅 but seriously, give me 20s or 30s and snow over 30s and 40s and rain any day.

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

outlook: did you know you're emailing someone OUTSIDE your organization? me: ...why yes, that is why I'm emailing them. if I need to chat with most people in my org I will walk to their office or slack them.

well, damn #goblue

go blueeeeeeee!! 😁

Interested in hurricanes? I want to introduce TC-ATLAS: the Tropical Cyclone Analysis Tool for Live and Archived Structure. Explore live or past storms without writing a line of code or downloading a data file, building on the capabilities of TC-RADAR: michaelfischerwx.github.io/TC-ATLAS/ind...

anyone on here heading to Tropical next week???

Last week's record-setting heat took a major toll on Colorado's snowpack (which was already in bad shape). We're currently sitting at 44% of average with ~2 weeks to go until our average peak. Little to no precipitation is expected over the next 7 days. #cowx

“March”

Highs yesterday: 🏔️ Aspen (elevation: 7800’): 69° 🏔️ Gunnison (elevation: 7700’): 70° 🏔️ Steamboat Springs (elevation: 6900’): 70° 🌴 Miami, Florida: (elevation: 10’): 69° #COwx

Lots of previously unreported allegations in the lawsuit, including how NOAA also terminated a cooperative agreement with UCAR at the same time as the NCAR news, and how NSF demanded individual cost accounting for every UCAR employee that attended AMS with only 6 days to turn it around.

The full complaint is worth a read. There are several additional overreaches in there that I wasn't previously aware of.

Just in: UCAR has filed a lawsuit against NSF, the Commerce Dept, NOAA, and OMB to prevent the dismantling of NCAR, alleging "violations of the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act."

NSF Update through March 13, 2026 1/2

I am literally at an NCAR-hosted, NCAR-led meeting where the future of U. S. radar meteorology - one of our most lifesaving enterprises - is being articulated by 180+ diverse participants. NSF NCAR is the only institution capable of convening our community so effectively.

One was a farmer and a pastor (and possibly an english teacher?). The other was an electrical engineer (first half of his career he worked on remote sensing/military applications and the second half he did work with medical electronics like ultrasound machines).

All clear issued for the Chautauqua Cottages area of South Boulder. Good news.

nothing like an ill-timed hdf5 version update in brew to throw your whole week into chaos 10 days out from a workshop and 4 weeks out from a conference

15” of new 24-hour snow at Wolf Creek (below) to win the snow report! 13” at Purgatory, 10” at Snowmass and Crested Butte, and 9” at Steamboat and Silverton. 7” at Vail and Beaver Creek. I-70/Summit County mountains generally saw 3-6”, with more today. #COwx

Denver averages about 12 winter days at 60°+ per winter season. They happen. But 35 winter days at 60°+ doesn't happen, at least until 2026. #COwx

I'm obsessed with the weather combo that is forecasted tomorrow. 🔥🌬️❄️🌧️

first legit mountain snowstorm since early December over the next few days. Bring it! ❄️ #cowx

The mountain snowpack so far this winter is in bad shape. Long-time Coloradans might remember two other terrible winters for snow: 1976-77 and 1980-81. Our latest blog post takes a look at how this year compares to those snow droughts of the past. #cowx

Watch as a massive crack forms in the ice on Lake Erie. An impressive view captured by GOES-19 earlier on Sunday.

the production value on the halftime show was absolutely incredible. loved the sets, the arrangements, everything

One more reminder about our open faculty position! We'll begin reviewing applications in a few weeks.

Join UCAR President Antonio Busalacchi at a town hall meeting this afternoon at #AMS2026 to discuss the threats facing NSF NCAR. https://bit.ly/3NNXHS5

Shameless plug: I expect to host a grad student through NOAA’s Lapenta program this summer to evaluate global or near-global storm-scale MPAS forecasts. Contact me for more details! And I’ll be speaking today at 4:30p CT in Rm. 362C on our regional model development efforts with MPAS! #ams2026

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/...

let's play the "find the ridge" game!

Current statewide snowpack is officially record low for this date. Looking at where snowpack can go from here, we'd have to get 90th percentile snowpack accumulations between now and April to get a near average peak. This will have an impact on water supply and the wildfire season. #cowx

coming back from the holidays like "...am I calculating this dot product correctly?" 🫠

NSF also only gets a 3% cut and there is language protecting indirect rates. NCAR doesn't get any explicit mentions, just that the administration has to give Congress 30 days notice before any drastic changes.

looking forward to a year filled with anxiety 😵‍💫

Denver, CO - After a whiplash of a year, December finished off in record warm territory with an impressively persistent stretch of >60F highs, leading to a remarkable monthly high temperature anomaly of +13.7F above average.