Daniel Swain
@weatherwest.bsky.social
42K followers 2.5K following 2.1K posts
Climate scientist-communicator focused on extreme events like floods, droughts, & wildfires on a warming planet. www.weatherwest.com
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Reposted by Daniel Swain
weatherwest.bsky.social
There is a risk of significant flash flooding in parts of interior SW today as deep tropical moisture associated w/remnants of East Pacific #HurricanePriscilla interacts w/jet streak associated w/an incoming trough. Risk will be highest central/northern AZ and SW UT. #AZwx #UTwx
Excessive precipitation (i.e., flash flood risk) outlook from NOAA's WPC for today (10/6/2025) as visualized on pivotalweather.com. It shows a broad region of slight risk over the interior U.S. Southwest, and a two substantial lobes of moderate risk (i.e., second-highest tier) over northern Arizona and southern Utah, respecitvely.
weatherwest.bsky.social
More than a few folks sure seem to think that I do, though... 👀
weatherwest.bsky.social
Next week is looking quite active in CA as a high-amplitude flow pattern develops over North Pacific in downstream response to perturbation of jet stream by West Pacific #TyphoonHalong. NorCal looks quite wet & stormy (rain & iso. tstms/mtn snow); SoCal impacts TBD. #CAwx #CAfire
Snapshot from ECMWF ensemble of an unseasonably deep low pressure system centered just west of San Francisco by early next week. It will likely bring widespread rain, isolated thunderstorms, some mountain snowfall, and possibly some gusty winds though exact path and impacts remain TBD.
Reposted by Daniel Swain
weatherwest.bsky.social
"The requirements to succeed on new media platforms are almost precisely the opposite of what successful experts have trained themselves to do: maintain an institutional tone of formal detachment and stay ruthlessly on-message at all times."
For Expertise to Matter, Nonpartisan Institutions Need New Communications Strategies
To avoid irrelevance when they are needed most, experts and nonpartisan analysts must rethink not just their channels of communication but also their theory of influence.
carnegieendowment.org
weatherwest.bsky.social
There is a risk of significant flash flooding in parts of interior SW today as deep tropical moisture associated w/remnants of East Pacific #HurricanePriscilla interacts w/jet streak associated w/an incoming trough. Risk will be highest central/northern AZ and SW UT. #AZwx #UTwx
Excessive precipitation (i.e., flash flood risk) outlook from NOAA's WPC for today (10/6/2025) as visualized on pivotalweather.com. It shows a broad region of slight risk over the interior U.S. Southwest, and a two substantial lobes of moderate risk (i.e., second-highest tier) over northern Arizona and southern Utah, respecitvely.
weatherwest.bsky.social
"The requirements to succeed on new media platforms are almost precisely the opposite of what successful experts have trained themselves to do: maintain an institutional tone of formal detachment and stay ruthlessly on-message at all times."
For Expertise to Matter, Nonpartisan Institutions Need New Communications Strategies
To avoid irrelevance when they are needed most, experts and nonpartisan analysts must rethink not just their channels of communication but also their theory of influence.
carnegieendowment.org
weatherwest.bsky.social
I'd very strongly encourage public-facing domain experts, practitioners, communicators, and (in particular) those with an institutional leadership role to read this piece it its entirety. But, in keeping with the spirit of its contents, I'm offering some "TL;DR" pull quotes below:
weatherwest.bsky.social
I found myself nodding vigorously with almost every paragraph based on my own experience as a climate scientist-communicator. I've experienced this rapid and profound shift in the media landscape firsthand, and can confirm that most institutions are woefully behind the curve.
For Expertise to Matter, Nonpartisan Institutions Need New Communications Strategies
To avoid irrelevance when they are needed most, experts and nonpartisan analysts must rethink not just their channels of communication but also their theory of influence.
carnegieendowment.org
weatherwest.bsky.social
In case you missed it, this was recorded live (as always) and is available at the link below!
weatherwest.bsky.social
I'll host a livestream on Wed, Oct 8 @ 3pm PT to discuss the likely impacts of weakening #HurricanePriscilla on U.S. Southwest (including southern CA), including who may see some thunderstorms. I'll also a new weather & climate-related federal update...
Weather & climate office hour 10/08/25: Hurricane Priscilla's effects on Southwest & federal update - YouTube
The latest in a recurring series of live, virtual, & interactive "office hours" hosted by Dr. Daniel Swain on various topics related to extreme #weather and...
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Daniel Swain
weatherwest.bsky.social
I'll host a livestream on Wed, Oct 8 @ 3pm PT to discuss the likely impacts of weakening #HurricanePriscilla on U.S. Southwest (including southern CA), including who may see some thunderstorms. I'll also a new weather & climate-related federal update...
Weather & climate office hour 10/08/25: Hurricane Priscilla's effects on Southwest & federal update - YouTube
The latest in a recurring series of live, virtual, & interactive "office hours" hosted by Dr. Daniel Swain on various topics related to extreme #weather and...
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Daniel Swain
weatherwest.bsky.social
Thunderstorms are potentially possible w/both SoCal remnant moisture & NorCal low (lower odds). These will probably be "wet" storms in all cases, w/little fire risk. Offshore waters remain anomalously warm, which will "juice things up" a bit as well. [3/3] #CAwx #CAfire
NOAA Coral Reef Watch map depicting current ocean surface temperature (SST) anomalies near California. The are almost uniformly positive (warmer than average), as depicted by warm yellow/orange/red colors.
Reposted by Daniel Swain
weatherwest.bsky.social
While there is still some uncertainty, it now appears that Priscilla's remnant circulation will miss CA to SE but will still bring showers/t-storms to parts of SoCal, esp. south of LA County. Separately, NorCal may see a few showers directly from offshore low. [2/3] #CAwx #CAfire
Map from ECMWF ensemble depicting precipitation over the next 5 days across the American West. Light precipitation is depicted over much of NorCal, mainly north of the SF Bay Area, and light to moderate precipitation is also indicated over far SoCal (mainly south of Los Angeles).
Reposted by Daniel Swain
weatherwest.bsky.social
After another fairly hot and dry spell across California, cooler and more active weather will once again return later this week as remnant moisture from then-former #HurricanePriscilla interacts with an offshore low pressure system. [1/3] #CAwx #CAfire
Map plot snapshot from ECMWF model depicting the offshore low (NorCal) and the weakening Hurricane Priscilla (west of Baja CA). The field plotted is mid-level moisture (blues represent moister air) and mid-level winds.