Dr. Jeff Masters
@drjeffmasters.bsky.social
23K followers 570 following 1.9K posts
Extreme weather and climate change expert writing for Yale Climate Connections. Co-founder, Weather Underground; former hurricane hunter.
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drjeffmasters.bsky.social
Drought is climate change's biggest threat: If this winter is as dry as last winter, and no major reductions in use occur, Lake Powell by 2027 would have no storage left and “would have to be operated as a ‘run of river' facility” in which only the inflow from the river could be released downstream.
‘No One Comes Out of This Unscathed’: Experts Warn That Colorado River Use Needs Cutting Immediately - Inside Climate News
A new report finds that Lakes Mead and Powell, the nation’s largest reservoirs, could store just 9 percent of their combined capacity by the end of next summer.
insideclimatenews.org
drjeffmasters.bsky.social
Defending the highway to the NC Outer Banks is problematic: “It’s the overwash of sand that built these islands in the first place and allows them to persist," Moore said. "By blocking that process to defend roadways and buildings, we’re starving these islands of the lifeline they need to exist.”
Why efforts to protect Highway 12 could be making flooding worse
A UNC-led study says decades of road protection efforts may be accelerating erosion and putting the Outer Banks at greater risk.
www.wral.com
drjeffmasters.bsky.social
I’m participating in a 40-minute webinar today at noon EDT on King Tides and sea level rise. Lots of great experts speaking.
Reposted by Dr. Jeff Masters
jeffgoodell.bsky.social
"We focus a lot on global average temperatures, but this masks the real local impacts that climate change is having. The land – where all of us live – is warming about 40% faster than the global average, and high latitude regions are warming even faster." www.theclimatebrink.com/p/most-of-th...
Most of the world has recently set all-time heat records
Regional exceptions like the 1930s in the continental US notwithstanding
www.theclimatebrink.com
drjeffmasters.bsky.social
Climate change is going to hit the economy: “Even though this [crisis] is more regional [than the Great Financial Crisis],” says Burt, “it’s still something that’s pretty terrible.” He wishes we could prepare. Otherwise, he says, we’ll see “disorderly results” similar to what happened in 2008-2011.”
scrawford.bsky.social
Climate risk hammering LA’s housing market: insurance is harder to get and more expensive, homes stuck on the market, price cuts happening. Insurers and the state’s FAIR Plan reel. Market repricing is underway. Investors and the Fed still looking the other way. open.substack.com/pub/susanpcr...
What’s a house in LA really worth?
Southern California houses are sitting on the market. Part of the reason is physical climate change.
open.substack.com
drjeffmasters.bsky.social
Hurricane damage is often a function of their areal size, since big storms drive a larger storm surge and spread impacts over a larger area. However, this study found "global warming is not expected to strongly change storm size", and SSTs relative to global tropical average determine storm size.
Tropical cyclones expand faster at warmer relative sea surface temperature | PNAS
Tropical cyclones are expected to intensify more rapidly with warming, but relatively little work has examined whether they could expand more rapid...
www.pnas.org
drjeffmasters.bsky.social
Yep. The idea that city/state government is going to “maintain the large, complex infrastructure needed to effectively respond to rare catastrophic events is nonsensical. Having a robust FEMA enables the ongoing maintenance of the needed disaster response infrastructure at a federal level.”
wxmanms1.bsky.social
I am incredibly concerned (and angry) after reading this morning's WSJ investigation into FEMA and its accelerating deterioration, and in my daily BalancedWx post I explain why I think you should be concerned as well. Also, my weekly tropical deep dive. More: https://tinyurl.com/yuv86vyt
WSJ: "FEMA Is Paralyzed"
Thoughts and perspectives on their investigation into the crucial EM agency. And the weekly Monday tropical deep dive.
tinyurl.com
Reposted by Dr. Jeff Masters
mississippifreepress.org
Meta is constructing its largest data center yet: a $10 billion facility in Louisiana, as big as 70 football fields, requiring more than twice as much electricity as the City of New Orleans.

Louisiana has had to greenlight $3 billion in new energy infrastructure to service Meta's facility.
New Meta Data Center Needs Twice as Much Energy as New Orleans
Meta is constructing its largest data center yet: a $10 billion facility in Louisiana requiring more than twice as much electricity as New Orleans.
www.mississippifreepress.org
Reposted by Dr. Jeff Masters
bhensonweather.bsky.social
Tropical Depression 9, now in The Bahamas, may dump 10-20" of rain somewhere close to the Southeast U.S. coast as a tropical storm or hurricane early next week. Onshore or offshore? That's one of many big questions in the air right now. Full update:

yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/09/humb...
Humberto hits Category 4, while The Bahamas and Southeast U.S. prep for the next storm » Yale Climate Connections
A tropical depression strengthening on Saturday could affect parts of the Southeast coast for several days.
yaleclimateconnections.org
drjeffmasters.bsky.social
My quote on NWS job application loyalty questions: “You’re going to discourage qualified employees from applying because of these questions that have nothing to do with how well you can make a forecast, or if you are able to put out a proper weather warning. It’s not relevant to the job.”
National Weather Service at ‘breaking point’ as storm approaches
The National Weather Service is struggling to maintain its weather forecasting operations due to significant staffing cuts under the Trump administration.
www.washingtonpost.com
drjeffmasters.bsky.social
Just visited Antelope Canyon, AZ. The colors and rock shapes were exquisite! Foreign tourism is going well in AZ; I was the only American in my group of 16. Lots of Germans and Japanese here, and at the Grand Canyon.
Antelope Canyon
Reposted by Dr. Jeff Masters
drjeffmasters.bsky.social
Great sunset at Yavapai Point, Grand Canyon tonight.
Reposted by Dr. Jeff Masters
bhensonweather.bsky.social
An exceedingly complex forecast lies ahead for #Humberto and #94L. Of the latter, the Nat'l Hurricane Center warns that "the chances of wind, rainfall, and storm surge impacts for a portion of the southeast U.S. coast are increasing.” Full scoop here:

yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/09/gabr...
Gabrielle heads for Azores while Humberto and 94L brew in NW Atlantic » Yale Climate Connections
Unusually warm waters are fueling a busy few days near the peak of hurricane season.
yaleclimateconnections.org
Reposted by Dr. Jeff Masters
bhensonweather.bsky.social
Telltale sign of this odd Atlantic season: The #Azores are on track to experience a hurricane, #Gabrielle, before anyplace in North or Central America or the Caribbean. Meanwhile, Hong Kong and points west are bracing for #Ragasa, still at Cat 4 strength.

yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/09/hurr...
Hurricane Gabrielle makes a run for the Azores » Yale Climate Connections
A hurricane watch is up, while two other Atlantic systems percolate, and far south China braces for Typhoon Ragasa.
yaleclimateconnections.org
Reposted by Dr. Jeff Masters
drjeffmasters.bsky.social
Visited the ASU Art Museum in Tempe today; they have a powerful piece by American artist Michelangelo Lovelace called “Katrina Aftermath”.