Dr. Brad Illston
@bradillston.bsky.social
Senior Research Scientist for the Oklahoma Mesonet and Associate Professor for the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. PhD in Meteorology.
This hits a little too close to home.
February 1, 2026 at 6:13 PM
This hits a little too close to home.
Anyone want any Girl Scout cookies? My daughter is selling again this year so she can spend a night at a museum. I love that she chose that goal. You can also find me at the NWC or go to digitalcookie.girlscouts.org/scout/olivia...
January 28, 2026 at 12:27 AM
Anyone want any Girl Scout cookies? My daughter is selling again this year so she can spend a night at a museum. I love that she chose that goal. You can also find me at the NWC or go to digitalcookie.girlscouts.org/scout/olivia...
A new year of Univ. of Oklahoma meteorology students learning to install, wire, and program weather stations in my course. This year the stations are built with the National Weather Center watching over them.
January 22, 2026 at 10:06 PM
A new year of Univ. of Oklahoma meteorology students learning to install, wire, and program weather stations in my course. This year the stations are built with the National Weather Center watching over them.
I got excited for a moment until I realized it was our black labrador.
January 22, 2026 at 2:50 AM
I got excited for a moment until I realized it was our black labrador.
Packed house for the first day of Measurements class at the Univ. of Oklahoma. Record setting enrollment. Looking forward to teaching all of them the joys and pains of dealing with meteorological instruments.
January 20, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Packed house for the first day of Measurements class at the Univ. of Oklahoma. Record setting enrollment. Looking forward to teaching all of them the joys and pains of dealing with meteorological instruments.
Had a wonderful day teaching professors, scientists, and students from Peru on how to build and deploy weather stations. This station was deployed to study the micrometeorology and soil conditions under cedar groves.
January 16, 2026 at 11:02 PM
Had a wonderful day teaching professors, scientists, and students from Peru on how to build and deploy weather stations. This station was deployed to study the micrometeorology and soil conditions under cedar groves.
Had a great day installing micrometeorological and soil stations at the University of Oklahoma's Kessler Atmospheric and Ecological Field Station with students and faculty. This is just the beginning of the suite of sites at the field station to collect data for current and future research.
January 9, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Had a great day installing micrometeorological and soil stations at the University of Oklahoma's Kessler Atmospheric and Ecological Field Station with students and faculty. This is just the beginning of the suite of sites at the field station to collect data for current and future research.
Another calendar year in the books. 2025 ranked 7th out of the past 19 years that I have been tracking rainfall at my house in Norman, OK, USA. A very wet spring was countered by the very dry fall and winter.
January 1, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Another calendar year in the books. 2025 ranked 7th out of the past 19 years that I have been tracking rainfall at my house in Norman, OK, USA. A very wet spring was countered by the very dry fall and winter.
Some days you are out in the elements and some days you are in the cozy lab configuring weather stations for an upcoming deployment. These stations will be part of a research micronet and also training for international partners.
December 17, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Some days you are out in the elements and some days you are in the cozy lab configuring weather stations for an upcoming deployment. These stations will be part of a research micronet and also training for international partners.
Had a great time being pied in the face for helping raise money for weather disaster relief in Jamacia and Alaska. What a great cause and excited to see students, faculty, staff, and others contribute to the efforts.
November 13, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Had a great time being pied in the face for helping raise money for weather disaster relief in Jamacia and Alaska. What a great cause and excited to see students, faculty, staff, and others contribute to the efforts.
Had a great time video chatting with kindergarteners about hurricanes and the weather. They had some great questions and Hurricane Melissa is giving them a real-time demonstration of the power of a hurricane.
October 28, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Had a great time video chatting with kindergarteners about hurricanes and the weather. They had some great questions and Hurricane Melissa is giving them a real-time demonstration of the power of a hurricane.
Breaking edge technologies in their respective eras almost 100 years apart.
October 17, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Breaking edge technologies in their respective eras almost 100 years apart.
So a relative of mine is making headlines on all of the news networks right now. I guess I should turn off notifications on social media for a bit.
October 15, 2025 at 8:14 PM
So a relative of mine is making headlines on all of the news networks right now. I guess I should turn off notifications on social media for a bit.
The School of Meteorology and College of Atmos. & Geog. Sci. at the Univ. of Oklahoma is looking for a Researcher with experience in field work and instrumentation. Message me if you need more information. Apply at the link below.
Researcher
Click the link provided to see the complete job description.
ou.taleo.net
October 8, 2025 at 9:35 PM
The School of Meteorology and College of Atmos. & Geog. Sci. at the Univ. of Oklahoma is looking for a Researcher with experience in field work and instrumentation. Message me if you need more information. Apply at the link below.
I had a great time this week talking with kids from three classes (Kinder, 2nd, and 5th grade) out in Oconee County, Georgia about being a meteorologist, fun weather information, and interesting places I have traveled doing my job. It gives me so much joy seeing the curiosity of our next generation.
October 2, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I had a great time this week talking with kids from three classes (Kinder, 2nd, and 5th grade) out in Oconee County, Georgia about being a meteorologist, fun weather information, and interesting places I have traveled doing my job. It gives me so much joy seeing the curiosity of our next generation.
Had a wonderful time talking to the amazing people associated with the Oklahoma Homeless Alliance on how they can use weather data to assist our unhoused population. They were quite interested in Wet Bulb Globe Temperature and its utility.
September 18, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Had a wonderful time talking to the amazing people associated with the Oklahoma Homeless Alliance on how they can use weather data to assist our unhoused population. They were quite interested in Wet Bulb Globe Temperature and its utility.
Giant wolf spider last night and a corn snake tonight found in the bedroom. What critter will join us tomorrow night? #CountryLiving
September 17, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Giant wolf spider last night and a corn snake tonight found in the bedroom. What critter will join us tomorrow night? #CountryLiving
Swing and a miss on AI response to a weather history question on lowest mean sea level pressure in Oklahoma for March 2019. Another example for me to share with my students on using AI. It didn't even double check itself on units or reasonableness of the response.
September 12, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Swing and a miss on AI response to a weather history question on lowest mean sea level pressure in Oklahoma for March 2019. Another example for me to share with my students on using AI. It didn't even double check itself on units or reasonableness of the response.
I got a spam text on Saturday with which I decided to have fun. I think I am blocked now. They are no fun to play with anymore.
September 8, 2025 at 6:38 PM
I got a spam text on Saturday with which I decided to have fun. I think I am blocked now. They are no fun to play with anymore.
Michigan fans in shorts is an impressive level of pasty white.
September 6, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Michigan fans in shorts is an impressive level of pasty white.
It's that time of year again. I brought the nice weather. The Sooners can bring the wins. #BoomerSooner
August 30, 2025 at 10:14 PM
It's that time of year again. I brought the nice weather. The Sooners can bring the wins. #BoomerSooner
Conversation with 8yo kiddo...
Me: "I'll always have your back and be there for you."
Kiddo: "So, if I am at a conference that doesn't allow kids, you would watch my kids while I am gone?"
Me: "Well,.....yes."
Now I am pondering what she thinks about when I leave for scientific conferences.
Me: "I'll always have your back and be there for you."
Kiddo: "So, if I am at a conference that doesn't allow kids, you would watch my kids while I am gone?"
Me: "Well,.....yes."
Now I am pondering what she thinks about when I leave for scientific conferences.
August 28, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Conversation with 8yo kiddo...
Me: "I'll always have your back and be there for you."
Kiddo: "So, if I am at a conference that doesn't allow kids, you would watch my kids while I am gone?"
Me: "Well,.....yes."
Now I am pondering what she thinks about when I leave for scientific conferences.
Me: "I'll always have your back and be there for you."
Kiddo: "So, if I am at a conference that doesn't allow kids, you would watch my kids while I am gone?"
Me: "Well,.....yes."
Now I am pondering what she thinks about when I leave for scientific conferences.
My kiddo wanted to learn how to play Dungeons and Dragons. She never heard a quicker yes from her father. She had a blast. As an animal lover, she wanted to be a druid and even "dressed like one" in green flower pants for playing.
August 24, 2025 at 1:39 AM
My kiddo wanted to learn how to play Dungeons and Dragons. She never heard a quicker yes from her father. She had a blast. As an animal lover, she wanted to be a druid and even "dressed like one" in green flower pants for playing.
Congratulations on a successful launch of NISAR.
July 30, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Congratulations on a successful launch of NISAR.
Excited for tomorrow's launch of the NISAR satellite which will provide global information about water in its various forms. I have been working with NASA/JPL scientists on the ground verification instrumentation in Oklahoma for the past few years. The launch will take place in India at 6:00am CST.
NISAR Launch
YouTube video by NASA
www.youtube.com
July 29, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Excited for tomorrow's launch of the NISAR satellite which will provide global information about water in its various forms. I have been working with NASA/JPL scientists on the ground verification instrumentation in Oklahoma for the past few years. The launch will take place in India at 6:00am CST.