Karen Yip
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kbyip.bsky.social
Karen Yip
@kbyip.bsky.social
380 followers 300 following 360 posts
Geo! Enviro! Oceans! weather! STEM! 2YC! wildflowers!
Anti gun violence, pro gun safety.
she/her
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kbyip.bsky.social
Snail
Not teeny
Rosy wolfsnail. A snail held in black garden glove. A pale oatmeal colored snail whose shell is pointy like a skinny football.The spiral points toward top of image, snail’s foot toward bottom.
November 9, 2025 at 2:04 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
Houston’s dew point started dropping a couple hours ago with arrival of north wind. Forecast shows dew point in the teens tomorrow! 😲
Screen clip of the hourly weather details observed at IAH airport. Highlighted are wind data for ~4am to 7am showing 18mph wind & 25mph gusts after hours of calm air. Also dew point was 66 at 3am. By 7am it was down to 37.9.
November 9, 2025 at 1:53 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
www.weather.gov/images/lch/e...
Map of TX and LA with colors indicating rainfall total during Hurricane Harvey of 2017. Orange and red are the lower end of accumulation. Maximum accumulation is in the yellow area (40-45") in the center around Galveston Bay and also small pink areas indicating 50"+
October 26, 2025 at 2:38 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
A moment later the sun is just to the right of track alignment but the full disk is visible. 7:19am
Mostly a successful sunrise stalking. 🌅 feeling more peaceful.
Hope you have a good Wednesday!
Full circle of sun disk is above the horizon & clouds but now just to right off-center of tracks. Still a pretty sunrise. 7:19
September 24, 2025 at 1:59 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
Train passed. View of train’s end.
Now there are clouds low on the horizon so sun’s disk is partly hidden when the train shrinks in distance.
7:18 would be the magic moment.
Looking east toward sunrise along train tracks. The back end of train still visible The sun is above horizon and in-line with tracks but clouds clip our view of full sun disk. No a full circle. 7:18am
September 24, 2025 at 1:59 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
The sun is coming up and this train is blocking my desired view. I’m frustrated and not feeling zen.
Suspense. 7:16am
September 24, 2025 at 1:59 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
-honk honk-
Of course. A train. 😡 what timing.
Drama.
The track crossing arms are down, a large orange BNSF train engine coming pulling a long train behind. Train freight cars moving down the tracks toward sunrise. The eastern sky is brighter and more orange than a couple minutes prior
September 24, 2025 at 1:59 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
I woke up early and dropped off my kid as soon as school doors opened. Today is “sunrise aligns with train tracks through our neighborhood” day. 🌇🛤️
A small thread 🧵with small drama.
The view when I arrived at the tracks.
7:14am
Looking toward sunrise standing on stretch of straight tracks. Sun still below horizon.
September 24, 2025 at 1:59 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
It’s Friday. #OctopusFriday for any who still celebrate. This 8-armed friend was at 2388m on the seafloor of Cabo Polonio offshore Uruguay this morning.
#UruguaySUB200 #DeepWaterUruguay
@schmidtocean.bsky.social
Purple octopus facing the camera on muddy seafloor. Green laser scaling dots show it it just about 10cm across. Purple octopus facing the camera on muddy seafloor. Arms are curled up.
September 12, 2025 at 8:36 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
15 years at HCC
👏👏👏 for all the major milestones colleagues celebrated!
A small plaque “Award of Service”celebrating 15 years. A black velvet box with brassy round pin sits open on a yellow program booklet. Karen is holding a small plaque standing in front of large light up letters “HCC” which are decorated with white, yellow, and black balloons
August 30, 2025 at 3:07 AM
kbyip.bsky.social
Are paper parking permits needed for aeronautical engineers or astronauts?
Why can’t we get something a bit more permanent? Or classy?
August 29, 2025 at 8:17 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
Told kids to not shower during lightning storm. But this is going on and on. 🌩️⚡️🌩️

#Safetyfirst
#HouWx #severethunderstormwarning
August 19, 2025 at 1:22 AM
kbyip.bsky.social
Summer afternoon popup storms with juicy humid air can make for pretty skies.
#HouWx
View looking up at billowy clouds surrounding patch of blue sky. Afternoon sun rays illuminate sides of the clouds and create dramatic shadows on others. Radar image from KHGX (Houston area) from 6:26pm when the photo was taken.
August 7, 2025 at 11:58 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
Happy National Oyster Day. We ate a batch of raw and a batch of fire roasted for lunch at Caracol 😋
#NationalOysterDay 🦪
August 5, 2025 at 7:14 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
Just in case you were thinking it’s maybe extra rainy or wet in Houston… the data for this year show otherwise: just below or barely above average depending on your part of town
2025 data for IAH & HOU
July 9, 2025 at 11:21 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
The historic rainfall & flooding in the last 2 days is extra dramatic when put in context of the long-term drought the area has been in.
Images below: drought monitor map with Kerr County outlined bold.
Water level in Canyon Lake for ~65yrs. Notice how low the reservoir has been recently.
Drought Monitor map of conditions in Texas. Counties all outlined. Kerr County outlined in bold near center of state. The reds and oranges indicate severity of drought. All of Kerr County is at top 2 severity levels. Graph of water level in Canyon Lake, a reservoir on Guadalupe River. Time on X-axis starts 1960. Top of pool marked by dotted line just below 400'. The last 3 or 4 years the reservoir has had very low water height and the text at top of screen indicates currently 48.7% full.
July 5, 2025 at 5:38 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
A big rainfall this afternoon. Three of the 15-min increments received > half an inch at Pinemont/White Oak Bayou. It's been a long time since we saw this kind of extended downpour. SOOO much ⚡⚡⚡
3.4" total between 2 & 4:30.
Graph from the rain gage White Oak Bayou at Pinemont Dr. rainfall total 3.4" for the 6 hours displayed. Blue bars show rainfall in 15 minute increments. 2:30-2:45 was 0.92" of rain as the greatest increment.
June 26, 2025 at 11:05 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
Well when you get 6 text alerts from Harris Cty Flood Control Dist in a matter of a few minutes you know it’s pouring like crazy
Constant ⚡️🌩️⚡️🌩️ #Houwx
June 26, 2025 at 7:57 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
And a carpenter bee circling the center of a wooly rosemallow (native hibiscus).
June 24, 2025 at 6:52 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
Today’s nature break. Grasshopper nibbling American Basketflower.
June 24, 2025 at 6:52 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
Afternoon cloud beauty in Houston.
Tall cumulus cloud with sun rays shining from behind it.
June 19, 2025 at 1:16 AM
kbyip.bsky.social
The party is in Houston.

(Insert some rave appropriate music)

(But also, tell me about the atmosphere causing this)
June 7, 2025 at 2:56 AM
kbyip.bsky.social
Start your morning with views of #pillowlava
@nautiluslive.org is diving in the Mariana backarc at the Burke vent field ~3700m nautiluslive.org
May 20, 2025 at 12:24 PM
kbyip.bsky.social
Again today. Can someone explain this radar signal to me? IRS not raining out there.

#houwx
May 15, 2025 at 12:48 AM
kbyip.bsky.social
It’s not raining near Houston. It’s breezy & hot. But what atmospheric processes or conditions are the coastal radar picking up right now?
What is this signal?
May 14, 2025 at 2:21 AM