Why did a space startup's plan to accelerate the energy transition get astronomers worked up? My latest for @bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/news/article... #solarenergy #spacetech #climatetech

New radar research is revealing how long-distance bird migrants change the pace of their migration once they reach South America. #ornithology

Happy Friday! We’ve got your weekly debrief of what went on in Washington, DC, amid the government shutdown. But first, sea otters.

The first named storm of the season is forecast to hit the UK and Ireland with heavy rain and gale-force winds.

I am truly sorry to see this. www.bbc.com/news/live/c9...

The thing I wonder about AI is... if it is going to be smarter than we are, why do we assume it is going to be as murderous as we are? Also, if it is smart wouldn't it just build a spaceship and fly away? If you live inside a computer what do you care where the computer is?

I was asked to explain: twin hurricanes off the US East Coast and neither is going to hit the mainland. Bermuda will take some wind, rain, and surge. But two powerful storms within a few hundred miles of a densely populated, expensive coastline and the effects will be minimal.

I have been writing about these things since 2008, but this is still one of the weirdest maps I remember.

US Coast will likely avoid a direct strike by Tropical Storm Imelda. The system may swipe with some rough surf, heavy rain, but a landfall looks less likely as Imelda gets pulled out into the Atlantic. #tropic #hurricane www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

NHC will initiate advisories on Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine (formerly AL94), located near eastern Cuba, at 500 PM EDT (2100 UTC).

The world’s voracious appetite for soybeans now has farmers edging deeper and deeper into the Amazon rainforest

Indeed. Earlier this summer, the White House did this to me, as a scientific expert source in media, and issued a formal statement regarding my personal campaign contribution history in an attempt to discredit my commentary on wildfire, climate, and federal policy. Yet more alarm bells ringing...

Perfect for #caturday

Bird of Today: I haven't been keeping up with a bird a day, so I will just say the bird of today instead. A Brown Pelican off San Francisco last week. A common bird if you live there but a treat for me. 🪶🐦#birdphotography

The Neponset on the first day of meteorological fall. The water is low, the swamps are dry.

I was there for that one.

Next on my list of "books by people I know" reading list is Last Days in the Naked Valley by former @bloomberg.com colleague Ed DeMarco:

If you were a user or admirer of NOAA’s amazing climate.gov website - which has had all the good stuff (e.g., actual data and climate monitoring indices) removed by government - some web and data gurus/guerrillas are about to launch a recreation at climate.us. Follow @climate.us for launch updates.

#Trump International #Tariffs are Illegal Says Appeals Court youtu.be/rvT4FqHx-B4?...

The American Meteorological Society has issued a statement about the US Dept. Energy (climate sceptic) report on climate change. TL:DR "WTF!" (couched diplomatically) . www.ametsoc.org/ams/about-am...

Trump Eyes National Guard Expansion Into New York, Chicago www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com Myles Miller, Miranda Davis, Georgia Hall

Recently, there have been some CMEs coming off the east limb, possibly from ex-AR 4168. None of them are directed at Earth or fairly large, but we may see this activity directed our way as the responsible region rotates into the Earth-strike zone this week.

Millions in the country are confronting a terrifying reality: when sweat can’t evaporate, heat kills.

The "Books by People I Know" reading series continues. This week is Damaged Goods by high school classmate Paul Scheufele.

@bloomberg.com colleague K. Oanh Ha has the story on how climate change is changing the way people are taking "coolcations." People vote with their feet. Her story is here: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Erin's edge at Beavertail SP in Rhode Island. There is a good crowd watching waves they are closing the place at 6.

Had some fun with this one... Overlaid the meso view onto the CONUS view to get the high resolution swirling Hurricane Erin with the broader environment around it.

The Atlantic is coming life, as it does this time of year. This is a flower arrangement my oldest daughter did based on a hurricane's radar signature. Her cousin jumped in the middle to be Huracan himself! #hurricanes #atlantic

President Trump has ordered the entire southern border wall to be painted black to stop migrants from crossing because it’ll be too hot to touch, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem

Hurricane Erin is far from land, but it's forcing closures at popular East Coast beaches from NC's Outer Banks to the Jersey Shore. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Sun Dog

Trump Eyes Order to End Mail-In Ballots, Change Voting Machines www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @bloomberg.com Kate Sullivan

Garden art

Erin is getting stronger and wider again as it comes up the East Coast. It will batter the beaches and the shoreline from New England to Florida as it passes by. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

I should explain this is a pseudo-self portrait, although I don't have a hat like that anymore.

It’s been 56 years since Camille’s landfall. 900 hPa central pressure. Max sustained winds 150 kts. August 17, 1969. Margie Kieper created this WSR-57 radar loop with care. She also identified the importance of the cyan ring in microwave data for rapid intensification. We Miss Margie. 💔

Happy Monday everyone. What could possibly go wrong?

I mean…come on… The moon through the top of Erin’s eye last night, taken by the #hurricanehunters

Erin has become the Atlantic season's first Category 5 of 2025. A direct hit on any of the islands or US and Canadian coasts seems likely. Still it has to be watched in the coming week: #hurricane #weather www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Companies favorably ranked by the White House included DoorDash and Uber, according to Axios, which first reported the existence of the list

With winds of 75 mph, Erin is now the Atlantic's first hurricane of the season. #hurricane #weather #climate www.nhc.noaa.gov

Today is Friday August 15, 2025: Are you ready for it?

Erin might reach Category 4 strength -- 130 mph -- as sweeps east of the Bahamas -- assuming the forecast holds. Then it looks like it will thread the needle between North Carolina and Bermuda next week. It's going to be a long week: www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/grap...

On this day in 1281, a typhoon wrecked Kublai Khan's invasion of Japan. It was the second time a typhoon sank the Khan's plans to takeover Japan. #forecasts #weather #climate #hurricanes

The sky is that weird color you only get after a thunderstorm. Lightning in the clouds but far away.

And the street turned into a stream.

I am waiting for the tree to fall in the backyard. It's raining sideways and the brand-new gutter is... well... not doing so well