Dorian J. Burnette
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djburnette.com
Dorian J. Burnette
@djburnette.com
1.3K followers 830 following 440 posts
Associate Professor of Atmospheric Science, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Memphis | Historical reconstruction, dendroclimatology, extreme events, storm chasing

Website: http://www.djburnette.com
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djburnette.com
National Hurricane Center's 10 a.m. EDT (1400 UTC) update. #Melissa has intensified with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph and minimum central pressure down to 892 mb.
Satellite image of Hurricane Melissa with the eye just off the southwestern coast of Jamaica. Hurricane Melissa Tropical Cyclone Update NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL132025 1000 AM EDT Tue Oct 28 2025 ...CATASTROPHIC WINDS MOVING ONSHORE SOUTHERN JAMAICA... ...LAST CHANCE TO PROTECT YOUR LIFE... ...1000 AM EDT POSITION UPDATE... THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND LIFE-THREATENING SITUATION! TAKE COVER NOW! Failure to adequately shelter may result in serious injury, and loss of life. Residents in Jamaica that experience the eye should not leave their shelter as winds will rapidly increase within the backside of the eyewall of Melissa. To protect yourself from wind, the best thing you can do is put as many walls as possible between you and the outside. An interior room without windows, ideally one where you can also avoid falling trees, is the safest place you can be in a building. You can cover yourself with a mattress and wear a helmet for added protection. NOAA Hurricane Hunter Aircraft find that Melissa continues to strengthen with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h).The minimum central pressure has fallen to 892 mb (26.34 inches) based on NOAA and Hurricane Hunter Air Force Reserve aircraft data. The next update will be provided with the full advisory package at 1100 AM EDT (1500 UTC). SUMMARY OF 1000 AM EDT...1400 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- LOCATION...17.7N 78.1W ABOUT 45 MI...70 KM SSE OF NEGRIL JAMAICA ABOUT 255 MI...410 KM SW OF GUANTANAMO CUBA MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...185 MPH...295 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNE OR 20 DEGREES AT 7 MPH...11 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...892 MB...26.34 INCHES $$ Forecaster Kelly
October 28, 2025 at 2:09 PM
djburnette.com
The Mississippi River at Memphis, TN stage was at -5.44 ft at 3pm CDT today (figure below, downloaded from the dashboard). Forecasts indicate the low water threshold of -8 ft (significant, negative water-related industry/community impacts start) could be breached by the end of the month. 2/2 🧪
Observed and forecast stage of the Mississippi River at Memphis gauge. Forecast shows a steady decline through the end September with values falling below the low water threshold of -8 ft.
September 18, 2025 at 10:01 PM
djburnette.com
Note also in the upper-right corner of that website, there is a link to biodiversity stripes. The biodiversity stripes for the globe from 1970-2020 are below. 2/2 🧪
Biodiversity stripes illustrating a 73% decline in global biodiversity from 1970-2020.
June 21, 2025 at 4:35 PM
djburnette.com
Here's mine for Taxonomy Recognition Day.

Pinus aristata Engelm. (Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine) at Mt. Goliath, Colorado. Photo by my Brazilian colleague, Ana Carolina Barbosa. 2/3 🧪 #NameItToSaveIt
Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine tree at Mt. Goliath, Colorado. Photo by Ana Carolina Barbosa.
May 23, 2025 at 7:28 PM
djburnette.com
Drifted back to Forrest City after a brief intercept south of Wynne. Saw a wall cloud (below), but couldn't see any rotation. Waiting to see what happens as the cell southwest runs into the cell northeast of Wynne. #arwx
Wall cloud
May 20, 2025 at 7:58 PM
djburnette.com
Good morning from Enid, OK. I am wearing a certain t-shirt on today's storm chase. Considered a more southern target of Western North TX, but outflow boundary/confluence noted northcentral OK/southcentral KS. Choosing north. Departure imminent.
Bluesky t-shirt reading "Mundus Sine Caesaribus" (A world without Caesars)
May 19, 2025 at 4:26 PM
djburnette.com
Finally got to the supercell in vicinity of Woodward, OK. Still following it. #okwx
www.severestudios.com/storm-chaser...
Supercell thunderstorm.
May 19, 2025 at 12:11 AM
djburnette.com
Look what came in my mail recently. 😃
Bluesky t-shirt reading "Mundus sine Caesaribus" (a world without Caesars).
May 1, 2025 at 5:05 PM
djburnette.com
This just in from the Memphis National Weather Service Forecast Office. They have a "...tremendous backlog of storm reports that still need to be posted." Full statement is below with alt text. #arwx #mowx #mswx #tnwx
Public Information Statement National Weather Service Memphis TN 212 PM CDT Fri Apr 4 2025 ...Memphis Operational Status Update... We have a tremendous backlog of storm reports that still need to be posted. Due to the ongoing warning operations and the extremely high volume of partner coordination, briefings, and media interviews, we simply haven't had the bandwidth to post them in real-time. We sincerely ask for your patience as we continue to balance the delivery of critical, life-saving information during this multi- day event while also working to mitigate staff fatigue. We are only half way through what is a marathon. Please know that all reports are being carefully documented and will be posted in the coming days. At this time, we have made the decision to hold and post Local Storm Reports in bulk rather than releasing days-old reports during active weather. Our concern is that trickling in outdated information could unintentionally add confusion to an already chaotic operational environment. Additionally, we plan on focusing on warnings and communication and will forgo the issuance of any Special Weather Statements for sub-severe storms this afternoon and tonight. Thanks for your continued support, and please keep the real time reports coming as they are critical to the warning process. Stay safe and take care of yourselves and others around you.
April 4, 2025 at 7:23 PM
djburnette.com
First tornado watch of the day issued until 9 p.m. CDT. #arwx #lawx #okwx #txwx
Tornado watch for portions of extreme southeast Oklahoma, northeast Texas, extreme northwest Louisiana, and much of Arkansas until 9 pm CDT. Hazard Information: Several tornadoes and a couple of intense tornadoes likely. Widespread large hail and scattered very large hail to 2.5 inches in diameter likely. Scattered damaging winds likely with isolated gusts to 75 mph possible.
April 4, 2025 at 6:20 PM
djburnette.com
Impressive tornado debris signature with the below tornado at 2344 UTC (6:44 p.m. CDT). #arwx
Four panel of base reflectivity, storm relative velocity, correlation coefficient, and normalized rotation product showing a tornado debris signature near Lake City, AR
April 2, 2025 at 11:48 PM
djburnette.com
Particularly dangerous situation tornado watch hoisted until 12 a.m. CDT (see below). #arwx #ilwx #inwx #kywx #mowx #mswx #tnwx
Particularly dangerous situation tornado watch until 12 a.m. CDT covering eastern and south-central Arkansas, southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, western Kentucky, southeast Missouri, northern Mississippi, and western Tennessee.
April 2, 2025 at 8:09 PM
djburnette.com
We had one solid intercept on yesterday's storm chase south of Greenway, AR. We observed a wall cloud (left image). No rotation could be observed from our location (~5 miles away), but rising motion was observed. Some cool structure too (right image, wall cloud more embedded in rain). 1/2
Wall cloud at 6:20pm CDT (2320 UTC) on 30 March 2025. View is south of Greenway, AR, looking northwest. Supercell thunderstorm at 6:23pm CDT (2323 UTC) on 30 March 2025. Wall cloud was partially obscured by rain. View is south of Greenway, AR, looking northwest.
March 31, 2025 at 6:19 PM
djburnette.com
My university has put out a statement on the Office of Management and Budget memo. Screenshot below with alt text. I have redacted the e-mail address in the alt text to limit spam.

Students nervous about student loans, please know your loans are not affected. 🧪
Dear Faculty and Staff, A memo released on Jan. 27 from the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to heads of executive departments and agencies could have implications for the research enterprise of institutions across the country, including our campus. At this time, many of the potential consequences of the memo are unclear. NOTE: A federal judge has temporarily paused any actions included in the memo until early next week. However, we are not waiting until next week to consider the implications. The University is working closely with our representatives in Washington, D.C., the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), our partners at other research universities and leadership at federal research agencies to understand all the potential implications regarding the memo. The federal research agencies will be releasing more concrete guidance in the coming days. Unless faculty researchers receive explicit notification from their pertinent funding agency, they should continue applying for and executing their research projects as usual. The U.S. Department of Education has stated this does not apply to student loans, Pell grants and other forms of Title IV financial aid distributed directly to individuals. Please be patient as we gain further understanding of the potential implications and take the necessary steps. Please do not hesitate to contact me as the point person if you have questions or are anxious. Please also avoid taking any unilateral action based on rumors or false information. We will keep our UofM Campus community updated as information and resources become available to us. Jasbir Dhaliwal Executive Vice President for Research & Innovation
January 29, 2025 at 4:16 PM
djburnette.com
There is an epilogue at the end of the 13Z Day 1 Convective Outlook--Roger Edwards is retiring. An image capture with alt text is below. See quote post below for a link to the Roger's final outlook. If you are still on X, give @SkyPixWeather a shout out. #wxsky
...Epilogue (RE)... This is my final SPC outlook, forecast and shift. With a cyclonically swirling storm of memories, I retire mourning the end of a rewarding era, yet ever grateful, blessed with a career of public service devoted to excellence. For a poor kid from inner-city east Dallas, carrying a passion for tornadoes from earliest awareness, and a relentless drive to research and forecast them, it has been everything the dream promised, and more. I hope the American taxpayers have found my time worth their money. Even through this autumnal transition of life's seasons, I'll stay as inspired as ever by the tempestuous sky above -- to observe, photograph and study it, and keep giving back to the science in some way, as long as physically and mentally able. It just won't be on rotating shifts. The forecasting baton passes to another generation of sharp minds, just as the lead crew in the 1990s did for us "young pups of SELS" in Kansas City. The SPC is in great hands. There isn't enough room here to thank everyone from early childhood through OU, NSSL, NHC, NSSFC/SELS, and SPC -- family, friends, instructors, mentors, students, and colleagues -- but be assured I do. Nothing has granted greater career fulfillment than to deliver severe-weather forecasts with detailed, science-based insights, customized for each situation, shift after shift for over three decades, and to write related research papers. Thanks for reading and using them, any or all. Stay weather-aware!
December 31, 2024 at 3:31 PM
djburnette.com
New Bluesky Folks: You may notice that some of us use a domain name for our handle here (see image, my handle circled in red). If you have your own domain, check out the links below to see how to do this.

Bluesky Blog: bsky.social/about/blog/4...

YouTube Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP3O...
An picture of my Bluesky profile with the handle (my own domain) circled in red.
November 12, 2024 at 6:03 PM
djburnette.com
ChaseSpectral from KVNX using GR2Analyst. Thanks for sharing these, Sam!
KVNX base reflectivity image of severe thunderstorms in Kansas and Oklahoma. Colors use a newly published ChaseSpectral color map.
October 30, 2024 at 10:36 PM
djburnette.com
Boom! Scheduled for 9 a.m. CDT (1400 UTC)! Watch Musk ban the butterfly emoji now.
Scheduled post for 31 Oct 2024 at 9 a.m. CDT on X of nothing but a blue butterfly.
October 30, 2024 at 10:05 PM
djburnette.com
Congrats @bsky.app on surpassing 10 million users. I was part of the first 10%.
Bluesky celebrating 10 million users. I was user #120,519 (first 10%).
September 16, 2024 at 10:57 PM
djburnette.com
What's your "no one but me remembers game?"

Hmmm...let's go with some space flight science fiction:
Box art of the StarLancer video game released in 2000.
September 15, 2024 at 1:56 PM
djburnette.com
Such a surreal experience! Saw two solar prominences. Batting 1.000 with success in 2017 and 2024. #TotalSolarEclipse
Lights are on at a nearby church in Black Rock, Arkansas during the total solar eclipse. Total solar eclipse from phone camera.
April 8, 2024 at 7:40 PM
djburnette.com
Go up to 200 mb and Amarillo is only five knots away from four flags!
A weather balloon sounding for Amarillo, TX at 12Z (6 a.m. Central Standard Time). A very strong jet stream is observed with 195 knot winds at the 200 mb pressure level.
February 9, 2024 at 3:22 PM
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Preliminary data for the Mississippi River at Memphis, TN suggests a new all-time record low stage of -11.01 ft was set today. Recent daily lows follow a record low that was set in October 2022. These data still need to be verified by the US Army Corps of Engineers, so they are preliminary. 🧪
Gage height data for the Mississippi River at Memphis, Tennessee is plotted from 1 October 2022 to 10 October 2023. A new all-time record low of -11.01 ft was recorded on 10 October 2023. A line is also plotted in dark red that denotes the minimum operational limit of the gage (-12 ft). These data are preliminary and still need to be verified by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
October 10, 2023 at 7:07 PM
djburnette.com
Fair observation and gets right at the heart of the matter about residence time. CFCs have a long one. Back in 2005, the IPCC published the figure below in a special report predicting a slow improvement ozone levels. 1/n
Figure from IPCC (2005) Special Report showing observed ozone through 2005 and a range of computer model predictions to 2045 with a gradual recovery of ozone predicted.
August 28, 2023 at 10:27 PM
djburnette.com
Dear authors of that article...
Meme of Luke Skywalker saying "Amazing. Every word of what you just said was wrong."
August 28, 2023 at 1:44 PM