Johann Huntera
LightNews LightNews
banner
chattwjonathan.bsky.social
Johann Huntera
@chattwjonathan.bsky.social
2.6K followers 1.5K following 7.4K posts
Meteorologist & car safety systems. husband, father, Chattahooligan. He/him

Retweets are only endorsements if weather. You can like bad weather posts, it doesn't make you a bad person
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Johann Huntera
markellinwood.bsky.social
Is something going on this weekend?
NWS alerts map for the U.S.
January 22, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
wxmvpete.bsky.social
Good morning! Here are the newest Key Messages posted this morning.
January 22, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
wxcrum.bsky.social
Watching 0z GFS roll in. More ice than snow. But, of note, for some, more sleet than FRZ rain perhaps. I'm down for anything verifying that means we don't lose power. FRZ rain totals remain up there. People & clickbaiters rooting for disaster "Charter by the Sea". Not a lock on this. #ncwx #wncwx
January 22, 2026 at 4:15 AM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
willweatherrva.bsky.social
The 00Z GFS, which has data from the Hurricane Hunter mission tonight, is more or less the same - decent snowfall for #RVA before changing to mix late Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the 00Z ICON - which is similar to the Euro - still shows a high impact ice storm.

Clear as mud. #vawx
January 22, 2026 at 4:08 AM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
willweatherrva.bsky.social
There are Hurricane Hunter missions ongoing to sample the atmosphere in the region of the Pacific that will give rise to our winter storm. This data will be crucial for the 00Z model runs and will give us a much better idea of what we'll be dealing with. #rva #vawx
January 22, 2026 at 1:05 AM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
nws.noaa.gov
Nearly everyone east of the Rockies will see impacts from snow, ice, and/or extreme cold beginning by Friday and lasting through early next week. Get prepared ahead of the storm so your weekend plans can be to stay home and stay warm!

weather.gov
January 21, 2026 at 8:50 PM
chattwjonathan.bsky.social
Here's a excellent Forecast Discussion from NWS Peachtree City (Atlanta): Forecaster Hernandez.

Good nuance of comparing the ECMWF to the others and urging caution to wait until 00z runs tonight when they will also have added recon data.

Top notch stuff here.
.LONG TERM... (Friday morning through next Tuesday) Issued at 302 PM EST Wed Jan 21 2026 Long term will begin with the winter storm expected over portions of north Georgia. There is quite a lot to get into, so let`s begin with the setup. The troughing pattern will begin to dive southward late Friday into Saturday and continue into Sunday. The low off the Pacific coast will then push eastward and be the main factor in our impactful winter weather. The timing/track of this system is still in question with the WPC reconnaissance flight expected to sample the low this afternoon in hopes to get the data in by the 00z model data. This will hopefully lead to more consensus with the models. This has been a tough system to forecast, but we want to talk a bit about the "northward shift" and why we look at ensembles. We have been looking closely at the Euro model which has caused this northward shift thinking. If you look at just the deterministic then sure it shows a northward shift but if you dive deeper into the Euro ensembles, this deterministic run is a bit of an outlier. This is why we have not bought into the northward shift completely at this time. We would like to see more consistency between model runs especially with the sampled low pressure system before shifting our thinking. When looking at the GEFS and ECMWF ENS, our confidence still lies in the north Georgia with a wedge reinforcing this Saturday into Sunday. The wedge will be a big determining factor into how far south we see the wintry precip push. When looking deeper into the wedge setup on the ensembles then you can see that they are both struggling to resolve the wedge as most long range models do but ultimately are showing indications of a classic wedge setup which also points towards reinforcing the freezing rain setup. It which also points towards reinforcing the freezing rain setup. It will be interesting to see how the CAMs begin to come in tomorrow and Friday to give us more of an idea as to where the corridor will setup between freezing rain/wintry mix and cold rain. Due to this we have decided to keep the area with higher likelihood of increased ice amounts north of I-20 with the potential for seeing freezing rain just north of Macon if the wedge is stronger. We have issued a winter storm watch at this juncture for north Georgia, north of the metro from 06z Saturday through 15z Monday. This is not the ending point for this watch. We are still ~72 hours out at this point so this is likely to change. We will be able to refine the details as we get closer to the event. We want to focus in on the importance of being prepared at this point and make sure that you have preparations ready as soon as possible. If we receive this prolonged period of freezing rain then we will see the threat of power outages as well so please keep that in mind. After the storm, we are expecting temperatures well below normal. Once the freezing precip begins it is unlikely that we will reach above freezing until Monday afternoon or Tuesday afternoon at the earliest. This will result in any accumulations unlikely to melt. This will also result in a long duration of time below 32 which will increase the chances for busting pipes. Tuesday will be our coldest morning with temps in the the single digits over much of the area and wind chills near zero to below zero in northern Georgia.
January 21, 2026 at 9:11 PM
chattwjonathan.bsky.social
Anxiously awaiting the afternoon Forecast Discussions from the NWS FOs
January 21, 2026 at 8:36 PM
chattwjonathan.bsky.social
I'm going to dare to go to Walmart.

Need some supplies for staffing up this weekend.
January 21, 2026 at 7:24 PM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
climatologist49.bsky.social
This animation shows how many of the 50 ECMWF ensemble members meet the criteria for a Cold Weather Advisory over the next 14 days. #Jealous
January 21, 2026 at 6:58 PM
chattwjonathan.bsky.social
Quick 12z model takeaways

1. Morning model trends are looking warmer - trending towards turning over to rain for Chatt
2. Not all of them

Big winners in these runs:
Chattanooga
Knoxville
Atlanta
Columbia SC

Big losers in these runs:
Memphis
Little Rock
Kentucky and Virginia
January 21, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
wxmanms1.bsky.social
Models are still struggling with the complex atmospheric flow pattern that will drive major winter weather impacts this weekend. I take a look at the various features and how data loss (AK raobs) and data gain (recon flights) might affect the forecasts. More: tinyurl.com/mrxx6n2y
High impact winter storm still looming, but many uncertainties remain
Model trends over last 24 hours bring areas farther north into play for potential impacts
tinyurl.com
January 21, 2026 at 6:17 PM
chattwjonathan.bsky.social
I'm getting spammed with "now they're saying its just gonna rain" because everyone is taking the 06z ECMWF as gospel
January 21, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
cpsc.gov
Carbon monoxide deaths spike during power outages.

If you own a portable generator, make sure you have working carbon monoxide alarms. One portable generator can produce as much carbon monoxide as hundreds of cars.
nws.noaa.gov National Weather Service @nws.noaa.gov · 1d
The latest on the major winter storm and extreme cold expected later this week.
January 21, 2026 at 4:23 PM
chattwjonathan.bsky.social
In a rephrasing: Kids, this is why we wait for the experts.
weathermatrix.bsky.social WeatherMatrix @weathermatrix.bsky.social · 23h
GFS vs. Euro overnight. WHO WILL WIN?
Radically different snow maps.
January 21, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
chattwjonathan.bsky.social
My morning first-takeaway is higher confidence in freezing rain for Chattanooga. I'm still working through digesting what that will exactly mean.

Not a great update.
NWS Nashville graphic on Ice Chances for this weekend. Chattanooga at 56% chance of 0.25" of ice. That's way bad.
January 21, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
1gregtodd.bsky.social
A major winter storm and potential ice storm will move through the Eastern U.S. this weekend. Impacts are expected in north Georgia and now is the time to prepare! The forecast isn't as certain for central Georgia, but this is still a situation you should monitor closely. #gawx #Georgia #ice
January 21, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
wxcrum.bsky.social
Today will start the refining of the forecast. Tighter grid modeling finally starts chewing on things, and we should start to get a better feel of precip type and accumulation potential. Thursday really will give us a solid feel of things. #ncwx #wncwx #cltwx #avlwx
January 21, 2026 at 1:34 PM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
gstephensonwx.bsky.social
This is the chance of "Moderate" impacts this weekend due to the winter weather system... Meaning travel will certainly be impacted along with utilities. #SpectrumNews1 #ncwx
January 21, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
climatologist49.bsky.social
Absolutely unreal.
January 21, 2026 at 11:05 AM
chattwjonathan.bsky.social
Blueaky needs TMZ right now
January 21, 2026 at 5:13 AM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
dansmithweather.bsky.social
TIMELAPSE: We had another brief flash of aurora just after sunset this Tuesday evening! Here was the long-exposure view from Marblehead Lighthouse, courtesy of our friends at @shoresandislands.bsky.social.

#Ohio #aurora #timelapse
2-hour timelapse (6pm-8pm Tue Jan 20), showing an aurora/Northern Lights event over a frozen body of water (Lake Erie) and next to a lighthouse.
January 21, 2026 at 3:22 AM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
nws.noaa.gov
The latest on the major winter storm and extreme cold expected later this week.
January 21, 2026 at 1:57 AM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
stormsellwx.bsky.social
GoPro timelapse of the northern lights tonight.
January 21, 2026 at 2:46 AM
Reposted by Johann Huntera
davidho.bsky.social
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.
January 20, 2026 at 10:53 PM