iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

All hopes for some rain after a VERY dry start to the year in southern Vic dashed for most areas. A grand total of 0.4 mm in our local gauge. A reminder that one month (November 2025) doth not a drought, break.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

For those in Melbourne today, don't be fooled by the mild morning. The super-hot air is sitting like a giant bubble right above us, waiting for the sun to come up and start mixing all that cooler air at the surface with the air above. When it does, it's going to get hot, fast. Stay cool, stay safe.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Pyrocumulus happen when the immense heat from a fire causes near-surface air rise and break through to unstable layers in the atmos, leading to intense convection. I took this time lapse of the Walwa fire in NE Victoria on Friday afternoon as PyroCu bubbled away over the range from our location.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Had the opportunity to speak at the Senate Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy yesterday. We had many questions, including from Malcolm Roberts (ironically). You can see how that turned out, below. Huge props to Alex Dunne, a PhD student in our team who also spoke.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

Today's rain in western VIC from a typical "autumn break" system (decently strong mid-lat cyclone). But instead of dropping 20-40 mm (typical in a 'normal' year) most areas got 5-15 mm. This is very typical for dry periods - see our work on this from last year. journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

What is this strange liquid falling from the sky????

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of your trip Downunder!

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Officially my favourite headline of this Federal election, as seen on the ABC News website this morning 🤣 Australian politics at its finest.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Last Call! The Research Fellow position closes TODAY and the tenured position closes next Friday!! We'd love to see your application if you work in meteorology/weather science and Australia is a great place to live and work.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

FINAL OPPORTUNITY: Two jobs available in meteorology/weather sci at Monash Uni in Melbourne, Australia. International applicants welcome. 1. Research Fellow in Weather Resources (3-year contract) *Closes 24 April AEST* 2. Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Meteorology (permanent) *Closes 2 May AEST* Apply:

careers.pageuppeople.com

Job Search

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

careers.pageuppeople.com

Job Search

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Day 1 of the International Conference on Southern Hemisphere Meteorology & Oceanography in Cape Town, South Africa. Always a luxury not having to flip your circulations and seasons! Lots of talks on drought already, so I'm a happy camper!

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

New nomenclature alert! High-impact/extreme weather should henceforth be called "battle weather" according to my 5 year old. I will officially adopt this terminology. I can report that said 5-year-old's #1 favourite type of "battle weather" is a supercell.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

Our final stop is always a kicker. I would like to say we're just there for the view, but it's so much more than that. As we look out over the area we've been and take stock of the valley as it would have been before colonisation, how it is now, and how it will likely change again into the future.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

Out today with our third year "Water and the Land" class. We've measured river cross sections & discharge, identified flow on topographic maps, worked out how precip converts to runoff, chatted water resources at Maroondah Dam and talked rivers & flooding in Yarra Glen! Always a fun day out!

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Andrew Miskelly @anero.id · 06/03/2025

Tropical Cyclone Alfred somewhat looking the part on Friday morning, with gusty cyclonic bands crossing north east NSW and south east QLD, and anticyclonic outflow evident (as cirrus) to the south west.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

Cyclone Alfred, T-24-30 hours before it hits the Queensland and NSW coast. Keep an eye on warnings and please, please, please follow the advice of emergency services, especially if you're in low lying areas.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

My favourite thing about our building at Monash. Asked by the dept to find an interesting weather image. Ended up that extra bit special for me - it's the day my daughter was born (of course the daughter of two atmos/ocean scientists would be born on such spectacular and interesting weather day 😁)

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Dishes done, kids in bed, and husband and I spend our Monday night watching BoM leadership being grilled at Senate Estimates. Extra fun being played at 1.5x speed. What have our lives become?!?!

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Lawrence Vulis @lvulis.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

From NSF EAR program director Raleigh Martin on LinkedIn #climatesky #greensky

Yesterday, my federal agency (NSF) experienced a sudden and mass firing of over 10% of our workforce. My own Division lost 20% of its staff. In the blink of an eye, we lost many brilliant scientists, dedicated civil servants, and parents/spouses/caregivers who no longer have a paycheck. The firing was completely arbitrary, with no actual plan to achieve "efficiency" but instead just picking off anyone with the fewest job protections. I grieve for my former colleagues and extend my hand to be of help however I can.

I still have a job - not based on my abilities but simply because my status makes me harder to fire. But who knows what comes next. I'm hoping this assault on science and government is just a passing storm, but even then the damage has already been devastating - careers broken, research disrupted, and resources wasted.

Science is the goose that lays golden eggs - unleashing human ingenuity and systematic thinking toward discoveries that transform our society for the better. Public science funding creates space for research that may not have immediate applications but will yield dividends down the road. Unfortunately, right now the science goose is being strangled and those golden eggs are being lost. Our society will be poorer, sicker, and weaker as a result.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

"Predictability and reliability is an asset in the global economy." EU Director-General Kurt Vandenberghe. This is EXACTLY why the science is critical to maintain and grow. If we can't understand the climate system, we can't predict it.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

EU Director-General Kurt Vandenberghe says that ~70% of the climate risk in Europe is not being addressed by current policy. If that's in Europe, what does that mean for the rest of the world?

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

At a talk by the EU Director-General Kurt Vandenberghe. The transitions in the EU are impressive. He's describing the transition to net zero as a driver of competitiveness, "shock therapy" for modernising Europe.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

A wintery mid-summer blast in Southern Victoria this weekend. We had a "beach weekend" planned but had an adventure in a dune field near Wilson's Promontory National Park instead. Winds at the closest gauge were sustained at 60km/h and gusting to 80km/h at the time. My retinas got a good polish!!

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Ayana Elizabeth Johnson @ayanaeliza.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

If you’re in DC pls go and make a witty sign and yell real loud for me tomorrow‼️ For the love of @noaa 🩵 www.mobilize.us/ccanactionfu...

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

I will remain on this hill. Get stuffed Google. Stop pandering.

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Andrew Miskelly @anero.id · 07/02/2025

Tropical Cyclone Vince - mean wind speed 130 knots - tracking westward over the Indian Ocean.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

What's your favourite weather word? I was having a chat with my 5 year old today about weather words and I realised that I am very partial to "mizzle" - drizzle in mist.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

... And it continues. I've now had colleagues have major meetings cancelled because of this. A cease contact order for NOAA employees with ALL foreign nationals. Make initiatives and collaborations grinding to a halt.

wired.com

NOAA Employees Told to Pause Work With ‘Foreign Nationals’

An internal email obtained by WIRED shows that NOAA workers received orders to pause “ALL INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENTS.”

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Ok good, I have been told this WAS just bad timing for technical maintenance. Yay that optimism prevails

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

For decades, Australia had the "Climate Wars". This move by the new US Administration equates to a nuke. Climate science genocide - the systematic obliteration & erasure of the concept of climate change. Pity, climate change doesn't take notice of censorship. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

theguardian.com

Scientists brace ‘for the worst’ as Trump purges climate mentions from websites

Trump administration pulling references online ‘won’t make crisis’ stop affecting Americans’ lives, say experts

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Oh fun. Climate change doesn't exist if you can't measure it? I'm trying to be optimistic that this is just a temporary server glitch rather than a deliberate act by the new US Administration. But I just checked myself and yup, none of the Mauna Loa CO2 pages are loading.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Keen to hear thoughts about what I argue is academic/expert exploitation. I'm a bit over it. From the free time we give to peer reviews (to publishing companies making millions), to writing articles for open source news outlets... Being a good citizen? Or exploitative? Anyone else would be paid...

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

This photo* is the most spectacular image of a downburst I've ever seen. Taken from Arthur's Seat on the Mornington Peninsula outside Melbourne yesterday. *Not my photo. Copyright Toby Anderson via Facebook www.facebook.com/share/15ZWEv...

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

US colleagues are starting to post this letter. Does this mean all NSF grants and similar schemes are paused indefinitely? Can anyone clarify? I am beyond words...

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Fading light over the peaks at my happy place. Goodbye 2024! Have a wonderful NYE everyone!

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Andrew Dessler @andrewdessler.com · 29/12/2024

this is legitimately a big deal. zillow now putting climate risk on their website.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

One of my favourite things about an Aussie Christmas (in Victoria!) is the local CFA doing the annual Santa run! Kids and adults all get a kick out of it. Thanks so much to all the CFA volunteers who do this rain, hail or shine year in, year out.

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Michael Barnes @weathermanbarnes.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Weak tropical vortices can pack a punch!! 100s of mm of rain falling over the QLD coast today. Rain will continue tomorrow and cease by Sunday as the vortex is moved offshore.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Great job and a great place to work!

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Sunsets are pretty nice, at least

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

The fires in The Grampians in western Vic are making themselves known over Melbourne.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Last Monday we published an article on the skill of weather forecasts. We gave a prelim forecast for Melbourne for Xmas. To prove our point, the models are now converging on a mid-30s Xmas and a low-40s Boxing Day. The forecast will prob move a little bit, but read our article and you'll see why!

theconversation.com

Australia’s latest brush with extreme heat shows just how good weather forecasting really is

Much of the country is sweltering under extreme heat that was very well forecast. But seemingly minor factors can make a big difference to what happens on the day.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

The accuracy of the forecasts for the extreme heat currently hitting much of Australia has been exceptional. In some areas, the forecast bounced around, but for good reason that @weathermanbarnes.bsky.social and I explained for The Conversation. The reality is weather forecasts are better than ever!

theconversation.com

Australia’s latest brush with extreme heat shows just how good weather forecasting really is

Much of the country is sweltering under extreme heat that was very well forecast. But seemingly minor factors can make a big difference to what happens on the day.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Hmmmm with this cloud deck, methinks that 40C is not on the cards for Melbourne, unless something big changes...

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Melbourne's max temp forecast for Monday has bounced around from 41C to 39C to 37C and now back to 42C in the forecast updates in the past few days. It shows how much the timing of the front matters. A difference of a couple of hours can is a difference of several degrees to the max temp.

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Particularly pleased to see @drkimclimate.bsky.social get a gong for her outstanding comms work in the @amosupdates.bsky.social awards!! Follow her if you don't already 😁

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Ailie Gallant @ailiegallant.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Very humbled to have been made a Fellow of @amosupdates.bsky.social today. A big thank you to @21stcenturyweather.bsky.social Director Prof Christian Jakob for the nomination. Congrats to all new Fellows & award winners!

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