Husband, Dad (x2), & @NWSSPC employee (x3; TDM, WCM, & Science Support Chief); Misses Teaching & Students; Fan of Puns; Tries not to take himself seriously
Sep 22, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
I'm touched by the outpouring of support from everyone. It means a lot to a kid from fly-over country.
I'm tired. Between continuous telework as a supervisor and taking care of the tornadotots during the pandemic, I'm tired and don't have the mental energy ... (1/6)
... to deal with emotional responses to what I see on Twitter while keeping up with work and giving the tots the attention and love they need and deserve. And for those who know the real me, my kids and family mean everything to me. ... (2/6)
Sep 22, 2020 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
When I finished my undergraduate degree I was faced with a choice: go to graduate school and pursue a PhD or go to law school and pursue a JD. I chose science. (1/13)
I joined Twitter over a decade ago now. It initially served the purpose of promoting a stupid New Year's resolution to write a daily weather blog post to my website. (2/13)
Aug 4, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
The apparent collapse of the wind field as the center moved over the radar is amazing. Guess the hurricane is strengthening again!
Wait ... 😉
For those who don't understand what happened, Doppler Radar only "sees" wind components that are to/from (parallel) a radar. (1/3)
As the eye of a hurricane moves over the radar, the wind to/from component of the wind approaches 0, meaning the wind is orthogonal to the radar beam everywhere. This shows up in velocity data as a decrease in wind speed. (2/3)
Jun 25, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Twister 2 should be about a former hotshot, arrogant severe storms researcher/programmer who loved to poke bears but ended up taking a job in middle management. (1/5)
Our first main character (let's call him Pat for simplicity) is asked by a group of friends to "chase the big one" since "NSSL is predicting an F5". He declines because he has to attend a budget meeting. (2/5)
May 23, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
I'm sitting in my living room and a commotion drew me to look out the front door/window. Apparently two birds are ... um ... doing what birds do in the spring. Do I just sit here? Do I leave and give them some privacy? It's my house, though ... And now one of them is cooing ...😳
Looks like they've taken a break and now sitting on part of the roof. But, man, the porch light is swinging pretty strongly.
Apr 11, 2020 • 17 tweets • 2 min read
Lots of interest in SPC categories today. Specifically Moderate being level 4 of 5, and not being "in the middle". A couple comments. (1/17)
SPC originally only issued categorical outlooks: Slight, Moderate, and High. Moderate was the middle category, where many now say it belongs. (2/17)
Mar 7, 2020 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
Friends/Non-friends in the media: If you want to quote me or reference me in an article, please consider actually speaking with me. (1/6)
I cannot tell you the amount of misinformation about the historical context of Monday night's tornadoes that has been attributed to me. (2/6)
Sep 2, 2019 • 8 tweets • 1 min read
Pay no attention to what follows. I'm literally just thinking aloud via tweets... (1/8)
Lows redevelop instantaneously wherever the lowest pressure is found. Thus, in a uniform pressure field, the region with the greatest pressure falls is where the low will redevelop (or loosely, "move" toward). (2/8)
Aug 23, 2019 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
@NWSNorman sporadic sonic ice sized hail in northeast shawnee at this time (essentially the Gordon Cooper Technology Center)
@NWSNorman frequency and size increasing. Nickels now
May 19, 2019 • 17 tweets • 2 min read
As I fly back from Atlanta to Oklahoma City I've had a few minutes to reflect upon some of what I have seen on social media the past couple of days. My thoughts (and mine only): (Thread) (1/17)
There is a lot of genuine concern about tomorrow's (20 May 2019) severe weather potential. Unfortunately, there is a lot of panic and misinformation. Here's what you need to know: (2/17)
May 4, 2019 • 21 tweets • 2 min read
Tweet Storm Warning! What follows is the history of SPC categorical outlook labels as told by me. There may be some deficiencies in the specific details but the overall sentiment is as best I know it to be. (1/21)
SPC originally had three categories: Slight, Moderate, and High. These were geared toward meteorologists and emergency managers. The ordering made sense. (2/21)
Apr 17, 2019 • 7 tweets • 1 min read
Thread time!
As we enter what appears to be another multi-day severe weather event, I want to take a moment to caution people against taking composite parameters at face value from convection allowing models. And, yes, what follows is slso s reminder to me.
In CAMs, models explicitly simulate some of the convective processes, allowing for numerical-based responses/feedbacks into the near-storm environment. This includes modifying near-storm wind fields and moisture fields.
