Eddie Wolff
@ewolffwx.bsky.social
Meteorologist | PhD Candidate @ UIUC CliMAS 📡🌪🛰 | Tornadoes, updrafts, radars, social science, etc. | he/him
https://climas.illinois.edu/directory/profile/ecwolff3
https://climas.illinois.edu/directory/profile/ecwolff3
We needed a way to quickly plot skew-ts from our balloon launches out in the field, so I was able to put this together... UI-Sonde is a lightweight GUI modeled after the import sounding functionality of the SHARPpy GUI. I also tried to capture the look of the classic SHARPpy format with a few tweaks
October 11, 2025 at 9:16 PM
We needed a way to quickly plot skew-ts from our balloon launches out in the field, so I was able to put this together... UI-Sonde is a lightweight GUI modeled after the import sounding functionality of the SHARPpy GUI. I also tried to capture the look of the classic SHARPpy format with a few tweaks
Inevitable result of a drought during harvest: field fire near St. Joseph, IL this afternoon
October 3, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Inevitable result of a drought during harvest: field fire near St. Joseph, IL this afternoon
Over 230 wind reports yesterday. Not all that surprising given the classic summer setup. Strongest gust reported was 92 mph from the ASOS station in Spencer, IA ⛈️
July 29, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Over 230 wind reports yesterday. Not all that surprising given the classic summer setup. Strongest gust reported was 92 mph from the ASOS station in Spencer, IA ⛈️
Looks like the main corridor of storms has set up south of Champaign today. A few funnel clouds spotted earlier north of the county though. Here in town, there's still a chance for some downpours and a rumble of thunder heading into the overnight.
July 20, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Looks like the main corridor of storms has set up south of Champaign today. A few funnel clouds spotted earlier north of the county though. Here in town, there's still a chance for some downpours and a rumble of thunder heading into the overnight.
A chance for some severe weather near Champaign-Urbana this afternoon and evening 👀 Though exact details will depend largely on where the remnants from storms currently out west end up
July 20, 2025 at 7:52 AM
A chance for some severe weather near Champaign-Urbana this afternoon and evening 👀 Though exact details will depend largely on where the remnants from storms currently out west end up
Stormy weather made for a good excuse to update some old radar plotting code (while my actual research code runs in the background)
July 16, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Stormy weather made for a good excuse to update some old radar plotting code (while my actual research code runs in the background)
The American mind cannot comprehend toonie sized hail (alt: I just had to Google what a toonie is lol)
June 19, 2025 at 8:16 PM
The American mind cannot comprehend toonie sized hail (alt: I just had to Google what a toonie is lol)
And just for the heck of it, here's a modified practically perfect hindcast. The risk definitely extended further east than outlooks were depicting, but that's to be expected in set ups like this. Lots of uncertainty in how long this line would actually hold together and how severe it would be
June 19, 2025 at 4:47 PM
And just for the heck of it, here's a modified practically perfect hindcast. The risk definitely extended further east than outlooks were depicting, but that's to be expected in set ups like this. Lots of uncertainty in how long this line would actually hold together and how severe it would be
Here's a radar composite of yesterday's wind storm (with wind reports marked in blue). Quite a large swath of severe gusts over the course of several hours
June 19, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Here's a radar composite of yesterday's wind storm (with wind reports marked in blue). Quite a large swath of severe gusts over the course of several hours
It was quite the drive to get the undergrads to Colorado from Illinois, but I'd say it was well worth it. We were able to observe a brief tornado before repositioning south for a spectacular sunset view 🌄⛈️
May 24, 2025 at 5:42 AM
It was quite the drive to get the undergrads to Colorado from Illinois, but I'd say it was well worth it. We were able to observe a brief tornado before repositioning south for a spectacular sunset view 🌄⛈️
Finally, we have Ryan Hall’s forecast. His group chose to highlight regions of above and below average tornado activity. Here I’ve “interpolated” his forecast to a state-level and compared it to the standardized departure from the mean (1995-2023) for the actual 2024 counts. (10/n)
May 22, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Finally, we have Ryan Hall’s forecast. His group chose to highlight regions of above and below average tornado activity. Here I’ve “interpolated” his forecast to a state-level and compared it to the standardized departure from the mean (1995-2023) for the actual 2024 counts. (10/n)
So how did he do? Well here’s the difference between actual tornado counts in each state and his forecast (actual minus Reed’s forecast). Generally overestimates in much of the Southern Plains (minus Oklahoma which was under-forecast) and underestimates in Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio. (7/n)
May 22, 2025 at 9:52 PM
So how did he do? Well here’s the difference between actual tornado counts in each state and his forecast (actual minus Reed’s forecast). Generally overestimates in much of the Southern Plains (minus Oklahoma which was under-forecast) and underestimates in Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio. (7/n)
Compared to climatology, Reed was generally predicting above average tornado counts in the Southern Plains, below average in the Northern Plains, Southeast, and Mid Atlantic regions. And of course, a prediction *well* above climatology in New Mexico. (6/n)
May 22, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Compared to climatology, Reed was generally predicting above average tornado counts in the Southern Plains, below average in the Northern Plains, Southeast, and Mid Atlantic regions. And of course, a prediction *well* above climatology in New Mexico. (6/n)
Next up is Reed Timmer’s forecast. He listed predictions for the exact number of tornadoes in each state in 2024. I showed his forecast in the first post, but here it is again in the same style as the rest of the maps. (5/n)
May 22, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Next up is Reed Timmer’s forecast. He listed predictions for the exact number of tornadoes in each state in 2024. I showed his forecast in the first post, but here it is again in the same style as the rest of the maps. (5/n)
First up is AccuWeather’s spring forecast, released on March 6, 2024. They forecasted range of tornado counts for March, April, and May. While their March forecast was pretty accurate, both April and May stayed relatively close to climatology (shifting a little above in May). (3/n)
May 22, 2025 at 9:52 PM
First up is AccuWeather’s spring forecast, released on March 6, 2024. They forecasted range of tornado counts for March, April, and May. While their March forecast was pretty accurate, both April and May stayed relatively close to climatology (shifting a little above in May). (3/n)
To start here’s a look at tornado counts by state for 2024. It was an active year with 1791 tornadoes in the SPC’s single track database. That makes 2024 the second most active year on record since 1950 (behind only 2004). Now on the the forecasts. (2/n)
May 22, 2025 at 9:52 PM
To start here’s a look at tornado counts by state for 2024. It was an active year with 1791 tornadoes in the SPC’s single track database. That makes 2024 the second most active year on record since 1950 (behind only 2004). Now on the the forecasts. (2/n)
In late 2023/early 2024 multiple entities published tornado forecasts for the upcoming year. With the release of the SPC’s 2024 dataset, it’s time to see how they performed… (1/n)
May 22, 2025 at 9:52 PM
In late 2023/early 2024 multiple entities published tornado forecasts for the upcoming year. With the release of the SPC’s 2024 dataset, it’s time to see how they performed… (1/n)
Just got a whole lot of hail in Richmond, IN, including some larger stones with both wet and dry growth layers 👀
May 17, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Just got a whole lot of hail in Richmond, IN, including some larger stones with both wet and dry growth layers 👀
Honored to have been asked to speak at Ohio State's 29th Annual Weather, Water, and Climate Symposium today! And huge kudos to the students who planned such a great event!!
March 22, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Honored to have been asked to speak at Ohio State's 29th Annual Weather, Water, and Climate Symposium today! And huge kudos to the students who planned such a great event!!
Writing on the porch today because someone is determined to persuade me to feed them 2 hours early (by screaming very loudly lol) 🙄😂
March 19, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Writing on the porch today because someone is determined to persuade me to feed them 2 hours early (by screaming very loudly lol) 🙄😂
For reference:
April 7, 2006
April 7, 2006
March 14, 2025 at 8:01 PM
For reference:
April 7, 2006
April 7, 2006
There have been 3 high risks issued on Day 2 convective outlooks. April 7, 2006, April 14, 2012, and tomorrow. Definitely in for a dangerous two days of weather...
March 14, 2025 at 7:56 PM
There have been 3 high risks issued on Day 2 convective outlooks. April 7, 2006, April 14, 2012, and tomorrow. Definitely in for a dangerous two days of weather...