Kenzie Krocak
@mjkrocak.bsky.social
Scientist studying ⛈️🌪️ and how we communicate forecasts.
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
Two things:
1. Large language models like ChatGPT are statistically likely word generators; they don't have "expertise" in anything.
2. I have seen a team of PhD level experts fail to assemble a dresser from IKEA.
1. Large language models like ChatGPT are statistically likely word generators; they don't have "expertise" in anything.
2. I have seen a team of PhD level experts fail to assemble a dresser from IKEA.
OpenAI releases the newest version of the AI model that powers its popular ChatGPT chatbot, with CEO Sam Altman promoting it as like having a “team of Ph.D. level experts in your pocket.”
OpenAI releases GPT-5, calling it a ‘team of Ph.D. level experts in your pocket’
OpenAI says its latest version of the popular AI model is better at coding, more accurate and less deceptive than previous versions.
nbcnews.to
August 7, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Two things:
1. Large language models like ChatGPT are statistically likely word generators; they don't have "expertise" in anything.
2. I have seen a team of PhD level experts fail to assemble a dresser from IKEA.
1. Large language models like ChatGPT are statistically likely word generators; they don't have "expertise" in anything.
2. I have seen a team of PhD level experts fail to assemble a dresser from IKEA.
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
The general public has absolutely no idea how much work scientists put in just TRYING to get grants, and then to cobble enough grant money together to do the actual research they envision. The idea that scientists (at least the ones I work with) somehow get rich off of grants is so laughable.
Last February, I led a proposal submission that encompassed six months, hundreds of hours, four institutions, a massive team, and and 256 pages. NSF just informed us that the entire Biology Integration Institute program was archived and our proposal would not even be reviewed.
With a form email.
With a form email.
June 16, 2025 at 11:12 PM
The general public has absolutely no idea how much work scientists put in just TRYING to get grants, and then to cobble enough grant money together to do the actual research they envision. The idea that scientists (at least the ones I work with) somehow get rich off of grants is so laughable.
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
A study published in #WeaClimateSoc by @sean-ernst-wx.bsky.social & co (incl @mjkrocak.bsky.social & @wwwehde.bsky.social) found that survey respondents who described their feelings about extreme weather in positive terms rated significantly higher on tornado preparedness.
Read more: bit.ly/442d1Rp
Read more: bit.ly/442d1Rp
May 22, 2025 at 5:29 PM
A study published in #WeaClimateSoc by @sean-ernst-wx.bsky.social & co (incl @mjkrocak.bsky.social & @wwwehde.bsky.social) found that survey respondents who described their feelings about extreme weather in positive terms rated significantly higher on tornado preparedness.
Read more: bit.ly/442d1Rp
Read more: bit.ly/442d1Rp
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
Several wildfires grow rapidly in size in Minnesota's Arrowhead region.
May 12, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Several wildfires grow rapidly in size in Minnesota's Arrowhead region.
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
Call your congresspeople! NOAA provides incredible ROI and we cannot kill all of the cooperative institutes. I've heard people complain NOAA is behind ECMWF in terms of AI. This would flat out put us behind EVERY weather agency around the world! CALL! WRITE!
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Trump seeks to end climate research at premier U.S. climate agency
White House aims to end NOAA’s research office; NASA also targeted
www.science.org
April 11, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Call your congresspeople! NOAA provides incredible ROI and we cannot kill all of the cooperative institutes. I've heard people complain NOAA is behind ECMWF in terms of AI. This would flat out put us behind EVERY weather agency around the world! CALL! WRITE!
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
A tricky thing about modern society is that no one has any idea when they don’t die.
Like, the number of lives saved by controlling air pollution in America is probably over 200,000 per year, but the number of people who think their life was saved by controlling air pollution is zero.
Like, the number of lives saved by controlling air pollution in America is probably over 200,000 per year, but the number of people who think their life was saved by controlling air pollution is zero.
April 7, 2025 at 4:13 AM
A tricky thing about modern society is that no one has any idea when they don’t die.
Like, the number of lives saved by controlling air pollution in America is probably over 200,000 per year, but the number of people who think their life was saved by controlling air pollution is zero.
Like, the number of lives saved by controlling air pollution in America is probably over 200,000 per year, but the number of people who think their life was saved by controlling air pollution is zero.
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
Bloomberg article about the OAR cloud computing contract services going away. I talked about impacts on severe wx R&D in my Substack post yesterday.
open.substack.com/pub/balanced...
open.substack.com/pub/balanced...
April 4, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Bloomberg article about the OAR cloud computing contract services going away. I talked about impacts on severe wx R&D in my Substack post yesterday.
open.substack.com/pub/balanced...
open.substack.com/pub/balanced...
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
New paper out for early release - huge team effort over at OU IPPRA getting this one out! We tested several early prototypes of the Storm Prediction Center's Conditional Intensity visualizations with the public, emergency managers, and broadcast mets. 1/4 journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...
journals.ametsoc.org
March 21, 2025 at 7:32 PM
New paper out for early release - huge team effort over at OU IPPRA getting this one out! We tested several early prototypes of the Storm Prediction Center's Conditional Intensity visualizations with the public, emergency managers, and broadcast mets. 1/4 journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
Multiple fires and evacuations in and near Norman OK. If you are not signed up for city alerts, go here: www.normanok.gov/public-safet... #okwx
March 14, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Multiple fires and evacuations in and near Norman OK. If you are not signed up for city alerts, go here: www.normanok.gov/public-safet... #okwx
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
Today is my day off, but I will be heading to work in a few hours to help out with this outbreak. We have 10 people scheduled to work on an evening where the normal staffing is 2. We will keep working even if the government shuts down. Saving lives is our #1 priority.
March 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Today is my day off, but I will be heading to work in a few hours to help out with this outbreak. We have 10 people scheduled to work on an evening where the normal staffing is 2. We will keep working even if the government shuts down. Saving lives is our #1 priority.
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
Nice piece by three heavyweights on the academia side of meteorology explaining NOAA’s critical importance.
Guest opinion: Robert Hart, Kerry Emanuel and Lance Bosart: We need NOAA now more than ever
The recent seemingly arbitrary and capricious reductions to NOAA are seriously jeopardizing the future of the country and, more generally, the property and lives of hundreds of millions of tax-payi…
www.dailycamera.com
March 12, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Nice piece by three heavyweights on the academia side of meteorology explaining NOAA’s critical importance.
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
Today I received an email expressing praise and appreciation for my work this week. That sort of simple kindness is like jet fuel for the soul.
I will never believe that empathy and kindness are a weakness. Praising a job well done, even when excellence is the expectation, is never bad.
I will never believe that empathy and kindness are a weakness. Praising a job well done, even when excellence is the expectation, is never bad.
March 11, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Today I received an email expressing praise and appreciation for my work this week. That sort of simple kindness is like jet fuel for the soul.
I will never believe that empathy and kindness are a weakness. Praising a job well done, even when excellence is the expectation, is never bad.
I will never believe that empathy and kindness are a weakness. Praising a job well done, even when excellence is the expectation, is never bad.
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
Halting weather balloon launches in Albany is a disaster waiting to happen.
No weather balloons means weaker storm tracking, worse forecasts, and more lives at risk. Our community needs full National Weather Service staffing now!
No weather balloons means weaker storm tracking, worse forecasts, and more lives at risk. Our community needs full National Weather Service staffing now!
MSN
www.msn.com
March 10, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Halting weather balloon launches in Albany is a disaster waiting to happen.
No weather balloons means weaker storm tracking, worse forecasts, and more lives at risk. Our community needs full National Weather Service staffing now!
No weather balloons means weaker storm tracking, worse forecasts, and more lives at risk. Our community needs full National Weather Service staffing now!
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
Plug for a new weather app: apps.apple.com/us/app/every...
Developed by an NWS forecaster specifically for weather-minded folks who want ad-free access to NWS forecasts and more!
AFDs, CF6s, radar with SPC and WPC outlook overlays, clean forecast displays
Did I mention it’s ad-free? 😀
Developed by an NWS forecaster specifically for weather-minded folks who want ad-free access to NWS forecasts and more!
AFDs, CF6s, radar with SPC and WPC outlook overlays, clean forecast displays
Did I mention it’s ad-free? 😀
March 9, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Plug for a new weather app: apps.apple.com/us/app/every...
Developed by an NWS forecaster specifically for weather-minded folks who want ad-free access to NWS forecasts and more!
AFDs, CF6s, radar with SPC and WPC outlook overlays, clean forecast displays
Did I mention it’s ad-free? 😀
Developed by an NWS forecaster specifically for weather-minded folks who want ad-free access to NWS forecasts and more!
AFDs, CF6s, radar with SPC and WPC outlook overlays, clean forecast displays
Did I mention it’s ad-free? 😀
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
NOAA Cuts Leave Wind Chimes As Sole Predictor Of Approaching Hurricanes
NOAA Cuts Leave Wind Chimes As Sole Predictor Of Approaching Hurricanes
SILVER SPRING, MD—As mass firings of career experts and scientists continued to roil the federal government, officials confirmed Friday that cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration...
theonion.com
February 28, 2025 at 8:01 PM
NOAA Cuts Leave Wind Chimes As Sole Predictor Of Approaching Hurricanes
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
Another factoid, the NWS budget represents about 0.02% of the total federal budget.
February 28, 2025 at 5:06 AM
Another factoid, the NWS budget represents about 0.02% of the total federal budget.
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
“My weather app does it better!”
-Weather Watches/Warnings? NWS
-Forecast data? NWS
-Observations? NWS
-Satellite? NOAA/NESDIS
-Futurecast modeling data? You guessed it, NWS (via EMC).
-Climatology data? The weather data compiled over a long period by techs.
-Outlooks? NWS
Food for thought. 💭
-Weather Watches/Warnings? NWS
-Forecast data? NWS
-Observations? NWS
-Satellite? NOAA/NESDIS
-Futurecast modeling data? You guessed it, NWS (via EMC).
-Climatology data? The weather data compiled over a long period by techs.
-Outlooks? NWS
Food for thought. 💭
February 28, 2025 at 4:43 AM
“My weather app does it better!”
-Weather Watches/Warnings? NWS
-Forecast data? NWS
-Observations? NWS
-Satellite? NOAA/NESDIS
-Futurecast modeling data? You guessed it, NWS (via EMC).
-Climatology data? The weather data compiled over a long period by techs.
-Outlooks? NWS
Food for thought. 💭
-Weather Watches/Warnings? NWS
-Forecast data? NWS
-Observations? NWS
-Satellite? NOAA/NESDIS
-Futurecast modeling data? You guessed it, NWS (via EMC).
-Climatology data? The weather data compiled over a long period by techs.
-Outlooks? NWS
Food for thought. 💭
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
I’m a federal employee, a research meteorologist at a NOAA lab (OAR-NSSL). I still have my job tonight. Many of my NOAA colleagues and many more of my fellow civil servants don’t. I want to share what people like me do. Instead of doomscrolling, maybe we can learn what civil service looks like.
February 28, 2025 at 5:51 AM
I’m a federal employee, a research meteorologist at a NOAA lab (OAR-NSSL). I still have my job tonight. Many of my NOAA colleagues and many more of my fellow civil servants don’t. I want to share what people like me do. Instead of doomscrolling, maybe we can learn what civil service looks like.
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
Second this! But please don't forget about the folks in the other NOAA Line Offices. The folks in OAR, NESDIS, etc are developing our future weather radar technologies, operational forecast models, warning paradigms... the list goes on. The entire enterprise is valuable and deserves to be saved. 🥺
February 28, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Second this! But please don't forget about the folks in the other NOAA Line Offices. The folks in OAR, NESDIS, etc are developing our future weather radar technologies, operational forecast models, warning paradigms... the list goes on. The entire enterprise is valuable and deserves to be saved. 🥺
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
I am now hearing from multiple folks in the past two hours (including some who have personally been fired) that mass firings have now commenced within NOAA--including, yes, at the National Weather Service.
February 27, 2025 at 9:17 PM
I am now hearing from multiple folks in the past two hours (including some who have personally been fired) that mass firings have now commenced within NOAA--including, yes, at the National Weather Service.
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
This may be a good time to remind folks that 1 out of every 3 Executive Branch employees is a veteran (the largest employee of vets in the Nation). And not all in DOD: more than 20% of GSA, VA, DOT, DOE, DOJ, DOL, DHS, and State Dept are veterans, some of the agencies hardest hit by these firings.
Star of Leopard News Asks That Friend’s Face be Spared
Jesse Watters Makes On-Air Plea to Trump for Veteran Friend Who Got ‘DOGE’d’ In Pentagon Cuts
Watters made an on-air plea for a military veteran friend was “DOGE’d” in Elon Musk’s Pentagon cuts.
www.mediaite.com
February 20, 2025 at 1:34 PM
This may be a good time to remind folks that 1 out of every 3 Executive Branch employees is a veteran (the largest employee of vets in the Nation). And not all in DOD: more than 20% of GSA, VA, DOT, DOE, DOJ, DOL, DHS, and State Dept are veterans, some of the agencies hardest hit by these firings.
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
Find all the things NOAA does in your neck of the woods by visiting this page: www.noaa.gov/legislative-...
In Oklahoma, the list is quite long! www.noaa.gov/sites/defaul...
Not as long in West Virginia, but there’s probably more than you think! www.noaa.gov/sites/defaul...
In Oklahoma, the list is quite long! www.noaa.gov/sites/defaul...
Not as long in West Virginia, but there’s probably more than you think! www.noaa.gov/sites/defaul...
February 19, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Find all the things NOAA does in your neck of the woods by visiting this page: www.noaa.gov/legislative-...
In Oklahoma, the list is quite long! www.noaa.gov/sites/defaul...
Not as long in West Virginia, but there’s probably more than you think! www.noaa.gov/sites/defaul...
In Oklahoma, the list is quite long! www.noaa.gov/sites/defaul...
Not as long in West Virginia, but there’s probably more than you think! www.noaa.gov/sites/defaul...
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
Excellent article explaining the vast ways the National Weather Service protects life and property, and supports commerce in the U.S. The NWS is the gold standard across the world, with many countries modeling the NWS operating model. It’s a government service worth saving.
Here's a small list of the ways you directly benefit from the National Weather Service on a daily basis.
The agency is a public good that issues critical, lifesaving forecasts and alerts. We must save it from indiscriminate and irreparable damage.
www.damweather.com/2025/02/the-...
The agency is a public good that issues critical, lifesaving forecasts and alerts. We must save it from indiscriminate and irreparable damage.
www.damweather.com/2025/02/the-...
The National Weather Service is a lifesaving public resource. We must save it.
The National Weather Service (NWS) is the most important federal agency you benefit from on a daily basis.
www.damweather.com
February 18, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Excellent article explaining the vast ways the National Weather Service protects life and property, and supports commerce in the U.S. The NWS is the gold standard across the world, with many countries modeling the NWS operating model. It’s a government service worth saving.
Reposted by Kenzie Krocak
