iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Radar reconstruction of the #BullFire plume near #Reno, NV. The data reveal repeated pulses of deep plume development, ending abruptly when the fire burned into an earlier burn scar.

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

#Pileus clouds forming atop #pyrocumulus were observed during #INSPYRE. These clouds are indicative of rapidly growing convection linked to intense fire. Co-located radar observations reveal the powerful updrafts (~20 m/s) driving their formation. science.nasa.gov?p=1422768

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Radar reconstruction of today's (8/22) plume development from the #HawkFire in Reno, NV. Notable transition to a hydraulic like flow late in the day (~00 UTC) linked to dangerous run into town. We were conducting onsite lidar scans during the transition.

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Here is the corresponding visible imagery, which shows the #pyrocumulus cloud in exquisite detail.

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

NASA’s #INSPYRE project captured extreme fire spread and pyroCu development on the #SandCreekFire in #MT on 8/11. MASTER imagery from the #ER2 blends IR and other channels to reveal the rapidly evolving fire front, smoke plume, and developing pyrocloud. Data processed by Roseanne Dominguez.

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Glut of fire across far northern MN and Ontario today, culminating in a pulse of deep pyroCb complete with lightning. Outlier weather yield outlier fires.

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Beautiful Pileus clouds forming over convective towers yesterday near #Truckee.

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Wisc-Satellite @wisc-satellite.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

A thermal signature of the cloud resulting from the #BlueOrigin #NewGlenn rocket explosion at Cape Canaveral, Florida (shortly after sunset on 28 May) was evident in #GOESEast (#GOES19) ABI Infrared spectral bands 07-16.

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

I wonder what the "origin" of all this "blue" is on the correlation coefficient?

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Fun day yesterday getting our UNR atmospheric sciences crew fire-line qualified with the help of Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District.

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

The birth of a family of supercells in eastern Nebraska: #NEwx (testing to see if gifs work yet...)

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Extreme wildfire spread isn’t just wind-driven. We show the Camp Fire’s explosive growth came from plume-coupled spotting: embers lofted, transported, and deposited in organized zones 5–10+ km ahead, igniting new fire fronts. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Fires, plumes, and wind shifts. Stay clear of the south flank of these fires in Nebraska, which will open up as the front surges through.

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

New paper out! We document tornado-strength (98 mph) counter-rotating vortices that developed within California’s 2021 #DixieFire. These fire-generated vortices reshaped the fire front and spread, posing immediate risks to firefighters and civilians. doi.org/10.1175/MWR-...

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Anthony Edwards @edwardsanthonyb.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

Water levels are fluctuating rapidly as the tsunami hits Midway Island, 1,200 miles northwest of Hawaii... wow.

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Diverting money from science funding for immigration crack downs is dumb. Science funding provides enormous ROI. Deporting & intimidating unauthorized immigrants undermines the functioning and growth of our economy. In other words, you spend money to lose money, or negative ROI.

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Mike Flannigan @mikeflannigan.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Updated figure from Jain et al. showing global extreme fire weather trends since 1979. Metrics are global 95th percentile of annual Fire Weather Index (FWI), Initial Spread Index (ISI) and the Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD). The trend is clear - we are seeing more extreme fire weather due to warming.

graphs showing fire weather index (FWI), initial spread index (ISI) and vapour pressure deficit (VPD) 95th percentile trends 1979 to 2024. Updated from Jain et al. 2022 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01224-1

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

1/n: Still trying to understand the Lake Tahoe boating disaster from this past weekend. I like letting the data lead. Lets start with the radar, where I've added a red line annotating the clear, coherent wind shift associated with the front sagging south across the region.

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Wisc-Satellite @wisc-satellite.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

Visible & Infrared images from #GOES19/#GOESEast showed that the #TroutFire in New Mexico produced a #pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) cloud on 14 June - the first pyroCb in the US for the 2025. More on the CIMSS Satellite Blog: cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-bl... H/T @neillareau.bsky.social

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Mark Parrington @mparrington.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

Total estimated emissions of 2025 Canadian #wildfires to 03/06 at ~50 MtC, comparable to 2023 record over same period, and increasing. #CopernicusAtmosphere Global Fire Assimilation System data based on MODIS🛰️ active fire obs ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/datasets/cam... @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

As noted by NRL's Mike Fromm, another exceptional #PryoCB today in Saskatchewan this afternoon.

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cira-csu.bsky.social @cira-csu.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

Robust plumes of pyrocumulonimbus billow from wildfires in Alberta. These were among many wildfires exhibiting extreme behavior yesterday across Canada.

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Mike Flannigan @mikeflannigan.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

Massive smoke plumes from fires in Saskatchewan and Manitoba this evening. GOES East-geocolor loop below.

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Did you know that in 2021 the Dixie Fire yielded spot fires 10 miles from the fire front? Want to know how? My new paper examines the plume dynamics driving these extreme spotting events: agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...

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Mike Flannigan @mikeflannigan.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

Active fires in Saskatchewan this afternoon. Mid-ir shows some very active fires (red/bright white) and a possible pyrocb (fire generated thunderstorm) in the GOES-West Geocolor.

Mid infrared band showing active fires in Saskatchewan

GOES West satellite geocolor showing a possible fire generated thunderstorm in Saskatchewan

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Impressive fire activity today in New Jersey. Here is a 3D radar view of the plume structure from the #JonesFire during its peak fire intensity.

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Cool example of preferential convection initiation on the snowy-to-snow-free boundary on the west slopes of the Sierra. Note the deeper cloud formation over the heated land as opposed to the snowpack (green).

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

2+ ft of beautiful snow yesterday densified overnight, yielding excellent skiing this morning. Just wish I had more time!!

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Classic early spring inter-mountain frontogenesis today: (1) Satellite image, (2) surface temperatures and rough diagram of the confluent region, (3) cross front diabatic heating differences helping to sharpen the front, (4) frontogenesis function (purple contours) from GFS.

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Double barreled Shasta County Convergence Zone

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Fires (black dots) and plume (radar/green/blue) popping up amidst the blowing dust in Texas and Oklahoma. Could be ugly when the wind shift hits...

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UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab @cssl.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

3/13/2025 10am Update: We had 27" (68.5 cm) of #snow accumulation in the last 24 hours, which brings our storm total to 27.8" (70.5 cm). Light to moderate snow will deliver a few more inches today and another significant storm will move in tomorrow morning. #CAwx #CAwater

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Mike Flannigan @mikeflannigan.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Come join our growing wildfire fire team at TRU. We are hiring a new assistant/associate fire professor in Arts & Tourism. Closes 26 March 2025 tru.hua.hrsmart.com/hr/ats/Posti...

tru.hua.hrsmart.com

Deltek Talent Management - JS Job Details

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Ezra David Romero @climatedaddykqed.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

SCOOP: 2 NWS Bay Area employees were fired today. They were on their probationary period: A meteorologist & an administrative support assistant. "We already have a number of vacancies, so this will affect us in running 24-hr shifts." Dalton Behringer, the office's union steward @kqednews.kqed.org

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Mike Flannigan @mikeflannigan.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

In 2024 a significant portion of BC area burned was due to 2023 fires that survived the winter (see figure on the left side). The current fire situation is on the right side wildfiresituation.nrs.gov.bc.ca/map and some are 2023 fires. First time I have seen fires survive two winters in Canada.

Map courtesy of Cooper Butchart. Map of Northeastern BC - blue areas 2023 fires and red areas are 2024 fires and most of those spread from the 2023 overwintering fires.

Map of Northeastern BC showing wildfire perimeters - some are from 2023

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Anthony Edwards @edwardsanthonyb.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

I'm a reporter at the SF Chronicle hoping to speak with scientists who were impacted by the government firings. Specifically NOAA scientists, especially those in California. Open to hearing from you on the record, off the record or anonymously. email: anthony.edwards@sfchronicle.com DMs open

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Anthony Edwards @edwardsanthonyb.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Debris basins quickly filling up in the foothills of the Eaton burn scar. Here’s Sierra Madre Canyon. #CAwx

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Sierra crest looking mighty fine today. (Frog Lake cliffs and Castle Peak)

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Neil Lareau @neillareau.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Impressive 72-hr precip totals across NorCal, including the always-consistent climatological maxima near Oroville (>19"). Seems like a good spot for a reservoir, eh?

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