Kelton Halbert
@stormscale.io
Personal account, views my own, you know the drill. Techniques Development Meteorologist for the Storm Prediction Center.
See more of my photography:
https://www.instagram.com/keltore
My blog:
https://www.stormscale.io
See more of my photography:
https://www.instagram.com/keltore
My blog:
https://www.stormscale.io
Pinned
Kelton Halbert
@stormscale.io
· Sep 23
SHARPlib 1.1.0 has been released to PyPI and conda-forge, and it was a pretty big update! Of note:
- Unified Python & C++ web documentation! keltonhalbert.github.io/SHARPlib/lat...
- Fully typed Python bindings
- Additional parameters
- Bug fixes
github.com/keltonhalber...
- Unified Python & C++ web documentation! keltonhalbert.github.io/SHARPlib/lat...
- Fully typed Python bindings
- Additional parameters
- Bug fixes
github.com/keltonhalber...
Getting to present this to the IMETs today and seeing the positive feedback/response made spending last summer writing a BUFR decoder from scratch more than worth it.
A little demo video demonstrating the interactive functionality working with full-resolution BUFR profile data. 1/2
A little demo video demonstrating the interactive functionality working with full-resolution BUFR profile data. 1/2
February 12, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Getting to present this to the IMETs today and seeing the positive feedback/response made spending last summer writing a BUFR decoder from scratch more than worth it.
A little demo video demonstrating the interactive functionality working with full-resolution BUFR profile data. 1/2
A little demo video demonstrating the interactive functionality working with full-resolution BUFR profile data. 1/2
I’m pretty excited about what I get to share with the IMETs during training next week.
If you’ve followed along w/ my BUFR blogs, or seen the bits & pieces posted here, you know interactive visualization & interrogation of 1-s profile data has been a big push of mine.
It’s all coming together.
If you’ve followed along w/ my BUFR blogs, or seen the bits & pieces posted here, you know interactive visualization & interrogation of 1-s profile data has been a big push of mine.
It’s all coming together.
February 6, 2026 at 10:59 PM
I’m pretty excited about what I get to share with the IMETs during training next week.
If you’ve followed along w/ my BUFR blogs, or seen the bits & pieces posted here, you know interactive visualization & interrogation of 1-s profile data has been a big push of mine.
It’s all coming together.
If you’ve followed along w/ my BUFR blogs, or seen the bits & pieces posted here, you know interactive visualization & interrogation of 1-s profile data has been a big push of mine.
It’s all coming together.
Vim/Neovim supremacy
hackers took over Notepad++ update servers and distributed a malicious update for the app. The update servers were vulnerable for roughly six months 😬 www.theverge.com/tech/872462/...
Notepad++ updates got hijacked for months and could have spied for China
The hack was resolved in a December update.
www.theverge.com
February 2, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Vim/Neovim supremacy
Reposted by Kelton Halbert
I stood. I started with MM5 & WRF. WRFhelp, WRF forum. All the online resources, presentations & documentation. i contributed back for years. It takes a village to build, maintain & help/contribute back. All possible bc of an institution dedicated to supporting our community & us supporting NCAR!
UCAR President Busalacchi asked everyone who has used UCAR/NCAR resources to stand. The entire room (with very limited extensions) stood.
January 30, 2026 at 10:52 PM
I stood. I started with MM5 & WRF. WRFhelp, WRF forum. All the online resources, presentations & documentation. i contributed back for years. It takes a village to build, maintain & help/contribute back. All possible bc of an institution dedicated to supporting our community & us supporting NCAR!
Reposted by Kelton Halbert
🗣️NEW: In collaboration with our SPC/CIWRO
research scientists, the new Severe Hazards Data Viewer is available: spc.noaa.gov/climo/datavi.... On this webpage you can view a 30-yr record for severe storms, wildfires, and lightning in the dynamic and customizable data display.
research scientists, the new Severe Hazards Data Viewer is available: spc.noaa.gov/climo/datavi.... On this webpage you can view a 30-yr record for severe storms, wildfires, and lightning in the dynamic and customizable data display.
January 30, 2026 at 9:12 PM
🗣️NEW: In collaboration with our SPC/CIWRO
research scientists, the new Severe Hazards Data Viewer is available: spc.noaa.gov/climo/datavi.... On this webpage you can view a 30-yr record for severe storms, wildfires, and lightning in the dynamic and customizable data display.
research scientists, the new Severe Hazards Data Viewer is available: spc.noaa.gov/climo/datavi.... On this webpage you can view a 30-yr record for severe storms, wildfires, and lightning in the dynamic and customizable data display.
Reposted by Kelton Halbert
🧵SPC will be introducing new information in Convective Outlooks starting in early March. The following thread will offer some basic information regarding these changes. The TL;DR: outlook categories are not changing! But there will be more info for peak hazard intensity.
January 30, 2026 at 5:58 PM
🧵SPC will be introducing new information in Convective Outlooks starting in early March. The following thread will offer some basic information regarding these changes. The TL;DR: outlook categories are not changing! But there will be more info for peak hazard intensity.
Reposted by Kelton Halbert
This is our info page about the changes (which should also be linked in the SCN that Daryl linked)
Conditional Intensity in SPC Convective Outlooks - NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center
www.spc.noaa.gov
January 29, 2026 at 8:33 PM
This is our info page about the changes (which should also be linked in the SCN that Daryl linked)
I know folks will probably have plenty of both valid & invalid opinions on the change, particularly how conditional intensity is visualized, but this change to the SPC outlooks and the dropping of the 10% unconditional SIG line will enable robust downstream products & provide more forecaster freedom
Oh my, CIG1, CIG2, and CIG3. :) Good-bye to hatched SIGN 😢
mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/p.ph...
www.spc.noaa.gov/exper/condit...
mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/p.ph...
www.spc.noaa.gov/exper/condit...
January 29, 2026 at 8:24 PM
I know folks will probably have plenty of both valid & invalid opinions on the change, particularly how conditional intensity is visualized, but this change to the SPC outlooks and the dropping of the 10% unconditional SIG line will enable robust downstream products & provide more forecaster freedom
Reposted by Kelton Halbert
Shameless plug: I expect to host a grad student through NOAA’s Lapenta program this summer to evaluate global or near-global storm-scale MPAS forecasts. Contact me for more details!
And I’ll be speaking today at 4:30p CT in Rm. 362C on our regional model development efforts with MPAS! #ams2026
And I’ll be speaking today at 4:30p CT in Rm. 362C on our regional model development efforts with MPAS! #ams2026
@nws.noaa.gov Director Ken Graham presented on NOAA’s modeling grand challenge at #AMS2026 this morning. He announced that the NWS is moving to MPAS as its modeling dynamical core, with his #1 moonshot goal being a global, fully coupled 3-km Earth prediction system using MPAS.
January 26, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Shameless plug: I expect to host a grad student through NOAA’s Lapenta program this summer to evaluate global or near-global storm-scale MPAS forecasts. Contact me for more details!
And I’ll be speaking today at 4:30p CT in Rm. 362C on our regional model development efforts with MPAS! #ams2026
And I’ll be speaking today at 4:30p CT in Rm. 362C on our regional model development efforts with MPAS! #ams2026
I was a student researcher working with NSSL on evaluating MPAS during the Spring Experiment circa 2015-2016. When NWS made the choice to use FV3 instead of MPAS, even then I felt it was a big mistake. Very glad to see it course corrected, even if a decade later.
@nws.noaa.gov Director Ken Graham presented on NOAA’s modeling grand challenge at #AMS2026 this morning. He announced that the NWS is moving to MPAS as its modeling dynamical core, with his #1 moonshot goal being a global, fully coupled 3-km Earth prediction system using MPAS.
January 26, 2026 at 4:17 PM
I was a student researcher working with NSSL on evaluating MPAS during the Spring Experiment circa 2015-2016. When NWS made the choice to use FV3 instead of MPAS, even then I felt it was a big mistake. Very glad to see it course corrected, even if a decade later.
The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil.
January 24, 2026 at 10:18 PM
The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil.
Reposted by Kelton Halbert
Carson Beck is picked off.
INDIANA IS GOING TO WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!
INDIANA IS GOING TO WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!
January 20, 2026 at 4:16 AM
Carson Beck is picked off.
INDIANA IS GOING TO WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!
INDIANA IS GOING TO WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!
Carson Beck on the game winning play of the game winning drive, throwing a pick instead.
Way to go Indiana, 16-0!!
Way to go Indiana, 16-0!!
January 20, 2026 at 4:19 AM
Carson Beck on the game winning play of the game winning drive, throwing a pick instead.
Way to go Indiana, 16-0!!
Way to go Indiana, 16-0!!
Reposted by Kelton Halbert
The National Weather Service is now hiring for both entry-level and seasoned meteorologist positions. Apply by January 29!
The entry-level positions are available in:
▪️ Houston, TX
▪️ Ft. Worth, TX
▪️ Hastings, NE
▪️ Great Falls, MT
▪️ Marquette, MI
Apply: www.usajobs.gov/job/854675700
The entry-level positions are available in:
▪️ Houston, TX
▪️ Ft. Worth, TX
▪️ Hastings, NE
▪️ Great Falls, MT
▪️ Marquette, MI
Apply: www.usajobs.gov/job/854675700
January 16, 2026 at 8:15 PM
The National Weather Service is now hiring for both entry-level and seasoned meteorologist positions. Apply by January 29!
The entry-level positions are available in:
▪️ Houston, TX
▪️ Ft. Worth, TX
▪️ Hastings, NE
▪️ Great Falls, MT
▪️ Marquette, MI
Apply: www.usajobs.gov/job/854675700
The entry-level positions are available in:
▪️ Houston, TX
▪️ Ft. Worth, TX
▪️ Hastings, NE
▪️ Great Falls, MT
▪️ Marquette, MI
Apply: www.usajobs.gov/job/854675700
How do we feel about this approach to multi-day “at-glance” previews for extended outlooks?
January 12, 2026 at 10:41 PM
How do we feel about this approach to multi-day “at-glance” previews for extended outlooks?
Severe thunderstorm warnings, but no thunderstorm to speak of
January 9, 2026 at 9:38 PM
Severe thunderstorm warnings, but no thunderstorm to speak of
Get to work the MesoA forecast desk the next two days. At least it won’t be completely quiet and boring!
January 9, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Get to work the MesoA forecast desk the next two days. At least it won’t be completely quiet and boring!
It’s okay, it’s not like we need scientific journal access to do our jobs implementing the current state of the science to make better forecasts and tools 🙃
January 5, 2026 at 4:39 PM
It’s okay, it’s not like we need scientific journal access to do our jobs implementing the current state of the science to make better forecasts and tools 🙃
Well, that ended up being easier than I anticipated!
Summary pages for both SPC Convective and Fire outlooks are up on my website. There may be some bugs with summary and preview graphic generation that will be solved as they come up.
www.stormscale.io/spc/convective
www.stormscale.io/spc/fire
Summary pages for both SPC Convective and Fire outlooks are up on my website. There may be some bugs with summary and preview graphic generation that will be solved as they come up.
www.stormscale.io/spc/convective
www.stormscale.io/spc/fire
January 4, 2026 at 11:08 PM
Well, that ended up being easier than I anticipated!
Summary pages for both SPC Convective and Fire outlooks are up on my website. There may be some bugs with summary and preview graphic generation that will be solved as they come up.
www.stormscale.io/spc/convective
www.stormscale.io/spc/fire
Summary pages for both SPC Convective and Fire outlooks are up on my website. There may be some bugs with summary and preview graphic generation that will be solved as they come up.
www.stormscale.io/spc/convective
www.stormscale.io/spc/fire
It’s a work in progress. I still need to figure out a summary graphic for days 4-8, and still need to do fire outlooks. But, finally put together a summary page for navigating between connective outlooks on my site. Don’t have to manually enter the URLs anymore!
www.stormscale.io/spc/convective
www.stormscale.io/spc/convective
January 4, 2026 at 5:42 PM
It’s a work in progress. I still need to figure out a summary graphic for days 4-8, and still need to do fire outlooks. But, finally put together a summary page for navigating between connective outlooks on my site. Don’t have to manually enter the URLs anymore!
www.stormscale.io/spc/convective
www.stormscale.io/spc/convective
Reposted by Kelton Halbert
I promised myself that I would finish the BUFR blog series before the new year. Not cutting it quite as close as my university assignments, but still, pretty close. The code was done a while ago, the writeup, not so much!
Join me in one last descent into madness?
www.stormscale.io/blog/so-I-am...
Join me in one last descent into madness?
www.stormscale.io/blog/so-I-am...
December 31, 2025 at 6:19 PM
I promised myself that I would finish the BUFR blog series before the new year. Not cutting it quite as close as my university assignments, but still, pretty close. The code was done a while ago, the writeup, not so much!
Join me in one last descent into madness?
www.stormscale.io/blog/so-I-am...
Join me in one last descent into madness?
www.stormscale.io/blog/so-I-am...
Homemade fish and chips for this NYE.
A from-scratch tartar sauce, Irish red ale battered cod, and triple fried pub chips. First time trying, solid 8/10.
A from-scratch tartar sauce, Irish red ale battered cod, and triple fried pub chips. First time trying, solid 8/10.
January 1, 2026 at 1:32 AM
Homemade fish and chips for this NYE.
A from-scratch tartar sauce, Irish red ale battered cod, and triple fried pub chips. First time trying, solid 8/10.
A from-scratch tartar sauce, Irish red ale battered cod, and triple fried pub chips. First time trying, solid 8/10.
I promised myself that I would finish the BUFR blog series before the new year. Not cutting it quite as close as my university assignments, but still, pretty close. The code was done a while ago, the writeup, not so much!
Join me in one last descent into madness?
www.stormscale.io/blog/so-I-am...
Join me in one last descent into madness?
www.stormscale.io/blog/so-I-am...
December 31, 2025 at 6:19 PM
I promised myself that I would finish the BUFR blog series before the new year. Not cutting it quite as close as my university assignments, but still, pretty close. The code was done a while ago, the writeup, not so much!
Join me in one last descent into madness?
www.stormscale.io/blog/so-I-am...
Join me in one last descent into madness?
www.stormscale.io/blog/so-I-am...
Merry Christmas. Or else.
December 25, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Merry Christmas. Or else.
Head to Nashville for Christmas and the house a few doors down goes up in flames 🙃
December 24, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Head to Nashville for Christmas and the house a few doors down goes up in flames 🙃