My first High Risk event.
I really do not have the right words. Man, I am proud of my coworkers at SPC and the local NWS offices. In awe of how far our science has come.
I am equally devastated at the damage from today. It never gets easier to see these events unfold.
Had to head home for the day, but I realized that today was my first High Risk event since joining SPC, which means it’s also the first
@_EmilyThornton_
! Here’s her action shot taking over one of the meso desks shortly after shift change. It’s gonna be a busy shift!
I took this photo on 3/2/12 during an outbreak across the midsouth. I watched the SPC forecasters knowing that was my big dream job. It felt impossible. Today, I can say I have accepted a FireWx/MesoA position with the SPC. Oh, to go back in time and tell myself what is to come!
11 years ago today March 2, 2012, I was standing outside the SPC looking in. Today, I’m working at the very desks I looked in on working. Life is wild. 🫠
Had my office going away party tonight. The feels are getting really real. These people have loved me well. 🥹
Also, this gift was EPIC. SPC risk categories including a PDS when you finish your beer. 😂
I second this 💯.
Did you know there are typically not many women applicants for SPC vacancies?
If you are a women and the SPC is your dream, take the shot! You can do it. You are qualified, smart enough, good enough, and needed.
@shannbil
Part of it taking this long is that there are only 5 lead forecasters. There have only ever been 36 leads in more than 50 years. Those vacancies don’t come along very often. Regardless, hopefully myself &
@_EmilyThornton_
are two of many more women at SPC in the future!
Possibly unpopular opinion, but the amount of times I’ve seen “structure of the year” used is beginning to grate on my nerves. How many times can that happen per season?
Aside: You all are doing big things and I love your photos! I just hate overuse of expressions. 🙃
Talking to my parents about weather.
“They say it will be really bad here. I don’t know.”
Me: 😐
“They… they say. It is me. I say. Me. Directly involved in the saying of it will be bad there, me.”
🤡
Actual conversation with my mom
My mom: "looks like that storm is going to move south..."
Me: "I told you that earlier today"
Her: "Yeah but they just said it on the News."
Me: "You know I am a Meteorologist, right?
Hi. I worked in this office and it was the most insane media and public interaction I have experienced. Everyone chill. This is not an easy office to be in when something, really anything happens. I’m imagining the phone ringing endlessly and the media going wild.
The Montebello potential tornado is still UNCONFIRMED by the National Weather Service. We have a team on the way to survey the damage and make an assessment. We will post those findings on Twitter as soon as possible, please monitor our page for official updates!
Norman, I take back every awful thing I said about this place while it was so hot. The absolute insane display of mammatus this evening has cured me.
#okwx
Also, try to keep from tagging offices in your tweets. They are searching twitter for reports. So, keep it to damage only. Keep your radar images and thoughts out of their mentions.
*Phone rings*
Me: “SPC, this is Emily”
Caller: “Who did you say you were with?”
Me: “Storm Prediction Center”
Caller: “I received a call from this number earlier. I won’t be needing any more calls from you so I’ll go ahead and block this number.”
Me: “Okay, Debbie.”
11 years ago I was told by a professor to pick a lesser track. He said “a full meteorology track is not for you, the math will be too much.” 11 years later I’m a meteorologist in my dream job at the National Weather Service with a full met degree. Jokes on him. Life finds a way.
5 years ago I had a professor tell me that I would never be successful, and that I needed to find something else to do as I lacked drive and wasn't intelligent enough. Jokes on him, I was working FT in my career of choice before graduating and now I have my dream job.
Look what I just found.
Look. At. This. Baby. MET.
This was my “spotter ID” for Storm Topper Network, a student organization that worked directly with Warren County EMA at
@WKUweather
.
EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR: The fire has quickly jumped the road and continued out into the field. The firefighters say this was their last road to be able to cut it off and put it out. It is now it is moving freely straight east. Estimating frequent wind gusts to 50+ mph
#txwx
Where to begin? I failed Calc 2 twice. Missed a 40 pt question on my first Dynamics 2 test and barely made it out with a D to graduate. Talk about stressed. Grades do not make the meteorologist! Just do your best and keep going! 🤍
Flex your lowest academic low score.
To remind us that almost everyone fails at some point in life but it isn't the end of the road. Just a memory in the end.
Mine was 27/100 in Engineering Math 2, just a year after I'd scored 99 in 12th boards. Much needed kick in my butt.
Goes to return the router to cable company.
Service Rep: “ Oh what do you do for work?”
Me:”I’m a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.”
Rep: “OH! COOL! That was a great meteor shower back in when was it…Feb… I think. Well you would know.”
Me:
For all the meteorology students out there questioning whether they have what it takes:
My Calc 2 professor suggested I consider changing majors
I got a 30% on one of my Gen Physics unit tests
I still ended up passing. I got that degree.
Don't give up. You've got this!!!
🧵 From Facebook memories today.
Let me just say, this was a day of mixed feelings. On one hand, I’d never been more proud of myself. There were so many times I didn’t think I was going to make it. I felt so inadequate and lost. I was giving 150% and it didn’t feel like enough.
In light of radars again going down on potentially high end weather days, can we take a moment of appreciation for the Electronics Technicians in the
@NWS
.
They are so hard working TOP NOTCH at what they do. It is vital to our mission.
While Nashville is not in the path of totality this time, we figured we would bring back this excellent model from August 18, 2017 of what those in the path of totality will see tomorrow for the Solar Eclipse!
#eclipse2024
#eclipse2017
#Nashville
#tnwx
#moonpie
This.
I didn’t get to see the eclipse today but my heart was soaring at the love and joy circulating this app today. Listening into the NASA live feed and hearing people cheer in unison.
We are all just imperfect humans. ❤️
Y’all, my feed is filled with scientists, photographers, science enthusiasts, and non-science people alike. How cool is it that at least for a few moments, everyone was sharing in the joy and wonder that is our sky, planet, universe? More of this all the time please!
Me working on learning to code:
*Some kind of issue occurs and code does not run.*
😡😡😡😡😡
“This is too much. I can’t do it.”
*discovers a misspelled statement/function/variable that I fat fingered*
😅
“Oh, okay let’s take a breath and go again.”
#WomensHistoryMonth
is drawing to a close & I would be remiss not to give a shoutout to my sister in science
@_EmilyThornton_
. Emily has been a wonderful and passionate addition to our forecast staff and I’m so glad she’s part of our SPC fam.
#womeninSTEM
Woke up smiling this morning and that is just the best feeling. 🙂
If you didn’t wake up smiling today, here is a cute Oti boy photo that hopefully does the trick.
And what does
#TarmacTheWeatherCat
think about cloud cover on April 8th (the day of the upcoming solar eclipse)? No answer at this point, but he had fun playing in the parking lot. And he wishes you a great weekend ahead.
#arwx
Happy National Weather Person day to all my colleagues and friends! I truly work amongst such amazing people who are the best of the best at what they do.
Editing some old old chase photos today. Stitched together a panorama of this supercell near Piedmont, OK. Easily my favorite chase of all time. This cell was beautiful.
Piedmont, OK | 5.29.12
A look inside the Storm Prediction Center today. A busy day but something we are well prepared for with staffing by experts in this field. Stay safe today and have a plan! Be prepared, not scared.
Oh my goodness! Look at this baby scared to death on her first day at the National Weather Service in Oxnard as a pathways intern five years ago. I’m screaming! Girl, YOU GOT THIS!
#TarmacTheWeatherCat
says "be a cool cat today and stay out of the heat!" Good advice! Heat index values will top out over 110 degrees in most locations.
Everything on WxTwitter from “this could be a huge day” to “not worth even getting out of bed today”.
But only one side can be right at the end of this day. 😈
@backinblack_wx
Today was very odd. There were supercells everywhere. Right environment. Strong VROTs. Yet, only a few produced. On one hand, grateful that not every good looking storm produced. Also, bumfuzzeled as to why. We talked about it all day on our ops floor. Landed on nothing.
You ever go storm chasing and then all you want to do is go storm chasing?
Then you just scroll Twitter looking at storm pictures and planning more storm chasing?
New feature on the SPC Mesoanalysis page: Mesoanalysis hodographs! Double click anywhere on the map to bring up the table with environment parameters and climo tables and it’s the last tab. There must be 100 MUCAPE for the hodographs to plot.
This is truly fascinating. Supercells (even imbedded) truly do not care about weak environments when they are going strong with pressure perturbations. Albeit, in this case we did have frontal forcing as well.
How's this for a tornado proximity sounding? 03z observed sounding from Norman. Tornado in Norman about 15-20 minutes later. LOOK AT THAT CAP! Insane mass flux along the frontal boundary and intense forcing blew that lid right off. Fascinating!
‘‘Twas a low expectation chase day but we all couldn’t help but pile in a car and go. 10/10 would do it again. Any day to see storms is a good day. Also, randomly ran into our Aussie friends at a gas station in middle of nowhere Texas. That’s storm chasing.
#txwx
It is difficult to find the right words, because the effect storms like this have on the lives of people is devastating. I want to be very sensitive to that.
To watch a storm like Idalia with all of the complexity and power is humbling and just leaves me in awe.
Watching guidance trend toward something at the end of February with my birthday coming.
This time last year, we had the Norman tornado on my birthday.
👀
I hate the term “atmospheric river”. There is nothing inaccurate about it but it bothers me. Bonus points, when I here an “AR” is coming. I can’t explain it but I just don’t like it. There, I said it.
Nothing like a huge spider crawling from beneath your desk to wake you up for the last hour of your shift.
So many questions:
1. How long were you under there watching me?
2. What about that precise moment seemed like go time?
3. Why are you so heckin large?!
What a day. Photos to come later. Here is
@TwisterKidMedia
and
@tempestchasing
as we were getting thrashed by the RFD trying to get in better position.
Hang in there, good things are coming! Hold on tight to your biggest dream and keep putting one foot in front of the other. Your path may not be a straight line but you are going to get there.
PSA: Watermark 👏🏻 your 👏🏻 photos 👏🏻
Do it where it cannot be easily removed. (i.e. across a transition point or in a textured area where it will be obvious it was tampered with and not on a solid color background.)
Let’s see what I didn’t expect on my birthday bingo card this year:
Intense allergic reaction
Missing a big day at work
Derecho incoming with up to 110 mph winds
Possible damage to property?
🥳 One more to bingo…