Kurtis M.
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stormorknot.bsky.social
Kurtis M.
@stormorknot.bsky.social
Meteorologist | Catastrophe Modeler | Skywarn Spotter | Data wrangler | Inquisitive | Views are my own
He/him
🏠Boston
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Hello world!
I’m a meteorologist who works in catastrophe modeling and lives in Boston. Hopefully I can find other people who want to chat about the weather or data science. R is my primary programming language.
Reposted by Kurtis M.
Aurora color guide! What creates the different shades?

Different atoms getting "excited" at different altitudes

The bright reds are a sign of a particularly intense event
November 12, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
Folks — what COLOR aurora are you seeing? Send us your reports and please share! This is useful data. Date and times are super valuable too!

A lot of y’all are seeing red auroras. You’re seeing the top of the aurora.
November 12, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
November 11, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
Reuters: U.S. SUPREME COURT REJECTS CASE THAT THREATENED ITS LANDMARK 2015 RULING RECOGNIZING A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
November 10, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
November 9/10: Rather exceptional snowfall forecast here in the greater Chicago metro region, including northwest Indiana. Very dangerous driving conditions given snowfall rates could be 3+ inches per hour (plus 30 mph winds). Locations just miles apart could see dramatically different snow totals.
November 10, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
Appropriately strong wording from @NWSChicago AFD regarding the potential for multiple intense bands of lake effect snow tonight into Monday morning.

Extremely heavy snow with zero visibility, high winds, and lightning possible in the strongest bands.
November 9, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
Cruelty really is the point. Who else would go to court begging for permission to starve their own citizens? Meanwhile, they send $40 billion to Argentina, buying two private jets for ICE “Barbie,” and Trump has already burned through $1 trillion in less than two months.
November 8, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
Shirley you can’t be serious!
I regret to say, I am.
Model support for another Caribbean system is growing in the 10 day range.
Something to watch as water temps are still plenty hot to support a storm.
Pictured is the Euro chance of tropical development which is near 70%. Hopefully it’s weak.
November 7, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
Weakest October Job Market in 22 years 🚨🚨🚨
November 6, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
This has to be unheard of. With an extraordinary peak flash rate of 699 flashes per minute just prior to landfall in Jamaica, Melissa probably set the record for the most prolific inner-core lightning outbreak ever recorded in an Atlantic hurricane.
November 6, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
BREAKING: JUSTICE DEPARTMENT EATS A LOSS IN 'SANDWICH GUY' CASE AS JURORS FIND DEFENDANT NOT GUILTY www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Jury acquits D.C. 'sandwich guy' charged with chucking a sub at a federal agent
Sean Dunn faced single misdemeanor offense after federal grand jurors refused to indict him on the felony charge sought by prosecutors.
www.nbcnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
BREAKING: PROP 50 HAS PASSED IN CALIFORNIA
November 5, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
Reposted by Kurtis M.
BREAKING: MAMDANI HAS WON according to Decision Desk
November 5, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
🚨Climate warning from UN ahead of #COP30: Overshooting Paris targets risks catastrophic damage.

⚡Guterres urges world leaders to “change course now”.

⏳Every delay brings us closer to tipping points: melting ice, dying reefs, Amazon savannahs.

#ClimateChange

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
November 4, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
📽️ WATCH: The U.S. government doesn’t track how often immigration agents detain citizens. So ProPublica did.

We found more than 170 incidents since the start of Trump’s second term. Americans have been kicked, dragged and held for days without access to lawyers.

➡️ Full story: propub.li/3LjuAVS
November 3, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
#CLIMATERISK JOBS
Moody’s RMS has opened up hiring for a bunch of entry level roles in London, NYC and Edinburgh.
These are positions across our model development, customer success (my org), and data science teams. If you are a grad or soon to be grad looking for work this could be for you!
October 30, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
From the Aon October 31, 2025 Review of Global Catastrophe Activity comes this rainfall image for Melissa:
October 31, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
ICYMI: Staggering rainfall in Vietnam in the past week. Bach Ma mountain near Hue City recorded a one-day rainfall of 1,740 mm (68.50 in). This is unofficially the second highest 24-hour rainfall ever recorded globally.

Record: 1,825 mm / 71.85 in La Réunion; January 7-8, 1966

(1/2)
October 31, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
Reposted by Kurtis M.
Slow-moving Hurricane #Melissa managed to cool the extremely-anomalously-warm central Caribbean Sea down to right around average for the date. Instead of a "cold wake", would that be an "average wake"? 😉

[1/2]
October 31, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
Smart move Jamaica. Climate catastrophe bond about to pay off.
“They divide Jamaica into boxes. Each box has a different central pressure that needs to be breached, so the storm needs to have a lower pressure than those boxes.” 
www.cbc.ca/news/science...
November 1, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
Peak 5-day rainfall in the Dominican Republic from #Melissa was 17.59” (446.5 mm). The capital of Santo Domingo got around 6” (150 mm).

wp.indomet.gob.do/wp-content/u...
October 30, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by Kurtis M.
A look at the devastating power loss across Jamaica following the historic crossing of Hurricane Melissa, captured by NOAA-21.
October 30, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Climate change strengthened Melissa about the same amount as in Hurricane Milton and Helene last year. However, the percentage increase in damage for Melissa due to climate change (12%) was less that for Milton and Helene (~45%) because Melissa was so strong that there wasn't much extra to destroy.
Climate change strengthened Hurricane Melissa, making the storm's winds stronger and the damage worse. » Yale Climate Connections
Two new rapid attribution studies have found that climate change increased Melissa's winds by 7-10% and damage by 12%.
yaleclimateconnections.org
October 30, 2025 at 5:38 PM