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Quinton Lawton, PhD

@quintonlawton.com
2K followers 250 following 54 posts

Assistant Professor in Atmospheric Science at Northern Illinois University. Casual runner, Houston-sports fan, and T1D.

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Quinton Lawton, PhD @quintonlawton.com · 12/09/2026
Great read. This stood out to me, it's where hard questions arise in higher-ed. How do we ensure training students remains at the center of academic research? Will such acceleration worsen academic pressures of rapid progress? What does it mean for validation and accountability? And so much more.
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Clark Evans @clarkevanswx.github.io · 30/08/2026
With another academic year beginning, I’m resharing something I wrote three years ago to try to demystify the graduate school application process. Please feel free to share with anyone who may benefit, and let me know of any suggestions for improvement! www.linkedin.com/pulse/demyst...
linkedin.com
Demystifying the Atmospheric Sciences Graduate School Application Process
As the dawn of another academic year is upon us, many college seniors will soon be starting the graduate-school application process. To help these students, I’ve prepared some semi-assorted, semi-orga...
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Marshall Shepherd @drshepherd2013.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Humbled to receive what is likely the highest recognition by my discipline in the U.S. Wow www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
eurekalert.org
American Meteorological Society announces 2027 weather, water, and climate honorees
Each year, the American Meteorological Society recognizes outstanding contributions to the weather, water, and climate community by individuals and organizations. 2027 awardees will be honored at...
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Quinton Lawton, PhD @quintonlawton.com · 31/07/2026
Throughout my early scientific career, I've learned complex math, atmospheric modeling, and many different programming languages. Yet today, I've spent HOURS fighting with the Blackboard web interface to try to design my Fall course...
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Chelsea Harvey @chelseaeharvey.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Small professional announcement: Amid our energy/enviro reorg, I'm joining a new reporting team dedicated to extreme weather/disasters (with ace colleagues Tom Frank & Saqib Rahim)⚡I'll be focusing more sharply on certain aspects of the beat (see🧵👇), so let's chat! www.politico.com/blogs/politi...
politico.com
POLITICO Announces Energy Team Reorganization and New Newsletter Strategy
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Deepti Singh @climatechirper.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
A week late but excited to share @nationalacademies.org report on Attribution of Extreme Events and their Impacts. Had the opportunity to work with amazing colleagues to reflect on the incredible progress in EEA and review the breadth of applications @climate-done.bsky.social @jmarlon.bsky.social
nationalacademies.org
Attribution of Extreme Weather and Climate Events and Their Impacts
Decades of data and research indicate that human-caused climate change is altering the frequency and intensity of several types of extreme events, such as heat waves and extreme rainfall events. Even...
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Quinton Lawton, PhD @quintonlawton.com · 17/07/2026
This week I moved to the Chicago suburbs for my new job, and decided to take the train into downtown yesterday. Ended up wearing a KN95 and trying to stay inside as much as possible all day, as the PM2.5 smoke pollution from the wildfires was absolutely insane.
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Quinton Lawton, PhD @quintonlawton.com · 11/06/2026
With El Niño officially here, a lot of discussion of the impacts on weather patterns around the world. One aspect we explored last year are the impacts it has on African easterly waves, which tend to be weaker, drier, and have less humidity (on avg.) during El Niño. (1/4) doi.org/10.1175/JCLI...
doi.org
On the Interannual Variability of African Easterly Waves and Its Relationship with El Niño–Southern Oscillation
Abstract African easterly waves (AEWs) have important impacts on rainfall, drought, and the development of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic basin. However, the interannual variability of AEWs and the...
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 29/05/2026
Of all the harm this administration has done to US science, today's proposed changes to the way federal grants are awarded and administered is the most damaging yet. The text of the federal register document is impenetrably tedious by design, so here's an excellent summary of what it says.
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Quinton Lawton, PhD @quintonlawton.com · 29/10/2025
Fantastic thread by @drkimwood.bsky.social that also mirrors my thoughts! I try to spend much of my outreach emphasizing the “category” can be misleading and isn’t the whole story, especially with rain and surge impacts.
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Dr. Kelly Núñez Ocasio @knubez.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
🚨 New Study Alert! Our study with @zmoon92.bsky.social & @edougherty.bsky.social offers new insights into how African Easterly Waves (AEWs), the seeds of Atlantic hurricanes 🌀, are being shaped by a warmer, moister climate. doi.org/10.1029/2025...
doi.org
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Quinton Lawton, PhD @quintonlawton.com · 02/10/2025
Oh hey, that's our paper!
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Andrew Dessler @andrewdessler.com · 02/10/2025
The Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M has a YouTube channel. Check out our first video! Starring @knubez.bsky.social along with many faculty and students! youtu.be/_e57SmX2Ijw?...
youtu.be
Texas A&M Atmospheric Sciences
YouTube video by TAMU Atmospheric Sciences
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Elizabeth Leitman @wxliz.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Just a reminder that NWS is considered essential during a government shutdown. Meteorologists will still go to work, forecasts will still be made, watches and warnings will be issued, data will flow. We won’t be paid until the shutdown ends, but we’ll still protect life and property as always.
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American Meteorological Society @ametsoc.org · 16/09/2025
Much appreciation for AMS Editor's Award recipient Rosimar Rios-Berrios for meticulous, thoughtful, constructive reviews 🤩 Learn more: bit.ly/48gR7vJ #JAtmosSci #PeerReviewWeek
Graphic for the Peer Review Week congratulating Rosimar Rios-Berrios, NSF NCAR, with a citation.
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Carl Schreck, PhD @carl-schreck.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
Incredibly proud of my colleagues at NOAA's NCEI that put together this thorough storymap of Hurricane Helene. storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/8887...
storymaps.arcgis.com
Helene in Southern Appalachia
One year later: An event analysis and how we move forward.
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Falko Judt @cloudprophet.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
🌍 The MMM lab at @ncar-ucar.bsky.social is running experimental realtime forecasts with a global 3.75-km MPAS model. Goal: Highlight the power of global km-scale models for weather prediction from local to planetary scales, incl. tropical cyclones. 👉 project.mmm.ucar.edu/real-time-fo...
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Amy McGovern @profamymcgovern.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
More news on AI2ES. Please help save science funding in general but also help save AI for weather! www.nbcnews.com/science/scie...
nbcnews.com
White House cuts to science funding threaten AI weather forecasting institute
The Trump administration has proposed a 55% budget cut for the National Science Foundation, but Congress has yet to pass a budget.
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Elizabeth Leitman @wxliz.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
Leaving negative comments isn’t really helpful. It takes zero effort to be kind and just scroll past. I choose to remain hopeful and love what I do, because the people that matter most are the ones I took an oath to serve - the American public.
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Brian McNoldy @bmcnoldy.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
Attention hurricane enthusiasts, connoisseurs, experts: the Atlantic season is entering the active months (Aug-Sep-Oct) so what better time to remind you of this Starter Pack so you can get reliable information and insights! go.bsky.app/88mXQKD
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Quinton Lawton, PhD @quintonlawton.com · 30/07/2025
Our research on the connection between African easterly waves (AEW) and ENSO was accepted! Using a wave tracker, we show that there is increased circulation, moisture, and convection around AEWs during La Niña, especially in the wave's mid- to low- levels near Africa. This may have TC implications.
journals.ametsoc.org
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Quinton Lawton, PhD @quintonlawton.com · 30/07/2025
Our research on the connection between African easterly waves (AEW) and ENSO was accepted! Using a wave tracker, we show that there is increased circulation, moisture, and convection around AEWs during La Niña, especially in the wave's mid- to low- levels near Africa. This may have TC implications.
journals.ametsoc.org
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July (they/them) @misovortex.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
A quick heads up on some tropical weather social media posts you may see around this time of year. The GFS (U.S.) model is known to over-intensify storms in the western Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in May and June. This means sometimes it will show a strong hurricane developing ~7+ days out, 1/
Dr. Levi Cowan on X
@TropicalTidbits

"The GFS commonly develops fictitious storms in the western Caribbean.

Typically, these arise from the aggregation of multiple small-scale vorticity perturbations (left panel) caused by and collocated with strong bursts of convection/precip (right panel).

While the GFS is not always wrong about the existence of these localized convective bursts, they are often way too strong, leading to small areas of intense vorticity/spin that eventually aggregate upscale into a tropical cyclone circulation, as we can see here on today's 12Z model run.

This is why the GFS is difficult to take seriously when it predicts TC formation, unless other models show a similar forecast. This is especially true in the western Caribbean, where the GFS has an extremely high false alarm rate.

Know your weather model before you trust its output!"

7:53 PM Jun 10, 2023
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Hank Green @hankgreen.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
200+ scientists are in the middle of a marathon livestream to show why weather and climate science is so important and needs all our help to continue. It is here: wclivestream.com/watch
wclivestream.com
Redirecting to: https://www.youtube.com/@wclivestream/live
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Dave Nolan @davenolan305.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
The first CGWaves research flight is scheduled for tonight! This is the plan, which could change a bit during the flight. @miamirosenstiel.bsky.social
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Casey Davenport @cedavenportwx.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Beyond honored to have been awarded the Bonnie Cone Early Career Professorship in Teaching! My name may be on the plaque but it is dedicated to all who have mentored, taught, and supported me along the way. I can only hope to live up to Bonnie's reputation of excellence and advocacy.
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Abigail Swann, PhD @ecoclimatelab.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
The Community Earth System Model workshop is taking place June 9-11 in Boulder, CO and hybrid online. It's free to attend or present online! Please consider sharing your work on climate and Earth system modeling (with any model). Register here by May 5th to present: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
2025 CESM Workshop: Call for Abstracts
30th Annual CESM Workshop, June 9-11, 2025 The CESM Workshop will begin on Monday 9 June 2025. The day will include presentations on the state of the CESM, presentations by this year's award recipient...
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Dr. Kelly Núñez Ocasio @knubez.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
We will be holding a memorial celebration for Prof. Jenni Evans this coming Friday (4/11) at 5:00 PM in 112 Walker Building @pennstateuniv.bsky.social to honor her life. If you would like to give a speech, reach out to me @ knunez.ocasio@tamu.edu or Guido Cervone (guc18@psu.edu). @ametsoc.org
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Dr. Kelly Núñez Ocasio @knubez.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
It is with deep sadness that I share the passing of my Ph.D. advisor, Jenni Evans. She was an esteemed scientific leader in tropical meteorology & computational science. She shared great strength & inspiration to follow my dreams. @ametsoc.org @pennstateuniv.bsky.social shorturl.at/BrzAU
shorturl.at
ICDS mourns passing of former Director Jenni Evans - PSU Institute for Computational and Data Sciences | High Performance Computing at Penn State
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Dr. Jenni L. Evans, a distinguished meteorologist and esteemed professor in the Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, passed away on Thursday, April 3, 2025, leaving...
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
The U.S. has two tsunami warning centers, both operated by NOAA. Employees were terminated from these centers today. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center covers Hawaiʻi, and now it is less safe to be near the beach. www.tsunami.gov
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Dr. Levi Cowan @tropicaltidbits.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
A statement I must make:
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Alexandra Witze @alexwitze.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Thinking today about @holdenthorp.bsky.social prescient advice one year ago at the AAAS meeting: scientists supporting one another is going to be very important going forward for the community.
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Kim Wood @drkimwood.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
I've typed and deleted many post drafts because I don't know what to say. Because words just cannot capture how heartbroken, angry, and helpless I feel right now watching these brilliant, hardworking colleagues and friends senselessly lose their jobs. I'm crying with you.
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American Meteorological Society @ametsoc.org · 11/02/2025
"[The removal of public data has] real world consequences, leaving individuals, families, communities, and policymakers alike without access to secure, reliable federal data that they have paid for and expect to use."
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AGU (American Geophysical Union) @agu.org · 04/02/2025
We are alarmed by the Administration’s actions to freeze science funding and eliminate DEI efforts and climate change initiatives, which go against AGU’s mission and harms our members. We must unite to address these changes, beginning by hearing from you. Read more: buff.ly/4hm8r4e
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Eric Holthaus @ericholthaus.com · 31/01/2025
Just got a story approved to run on Monday on the crisis happening at the NSF. If you are an NSF-funded scientist and have been personally impacted by the funding pause this week, I'd love to hear from you. Reach me securely on Signal: 3162958947
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 28/01/2025
I think some people hear “grants” and think that without them, scientists and government workers just have less stuff to play with at work. But grants fund salaries for students, academics, researchers, and people who work in all areas of public service. “Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.
washingtonpost.com
White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion
The Trump administration has put a hold on all federal financial grants and loans, affecting tens of billions of dollars in payments.
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Dr. Robin Tanamachi 🌪️ @tornatrix.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
My federal met colleagues have done NOTHING but serve the public in good faith with their best abilities. They are the literal opposite of “wasteful.” They deserve better than this betrayal.
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Quinton Lawton, PhD @quintonlawton.com · 12/01/2025
Hi #AMS2025 folks! On my way after a friend's beautiful wedding yesterday. I'll be giving two talks back-to-back Monday, January 13th, in the MJO/Sub-Seasonal Monsoon Variability session from 9:30-10am! If you don't mind listening to me talk about tropical waves for 30 minutes, come stop by!
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Elizabeth Leitman @wxliz.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
Some perspective for people who are saying they hope there is a government shutdown. Government workers are real people. Your friends, your neighbors, even maybe your family. Some of us are still required to work during a shutdown, and guess what? We do not get paid for that work until…(1/2)
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Dr. Kelly Núñez Ocasio @knubez.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
📢#AGU24: Interested in how the warming climate will affect weather over Africa & the Atlantic? Stop by my talk on Monday! @edougherty.bsky.social & I have join forces & are pioneering the use of MPAS (next gen weather & climate model) @ km-scales to simulate future climate projections! ⛈️
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Andrew Dessler @andrewdessler.com · 06/12/2024
Welcome Texas A&M @tamu.bsky.social Atmospheric Sciences! If you're interested in atmospheric sciences, give @tamuatmo.bsky.social a follow
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Quinton Lawton, PhD @quintonlawton.com · 03/12/2024
Going to AMS and not AGU this year, which means I get to do the pre-conference crunch during the most convenient time of the year: the holidays!
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Alex Harris @harrisalexc.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Razing and elevating homes after a storm is a pain — it’s expensive and slow for distraught residents. But it keeps us safe from future storms. Skipping it isn’t optional, as Fort Myers Beach learned www.miamiherald.com/news/weather...
miamiherald.com
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Quinton Lawton, PhD @quintonlawton.com · 27/11/2024
I’m learning that my productively is inversely related to the snow rates outside.
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Ed Hawkins @edhawkins.org · 27/11/2024
You can now share the Warming Stripes directly to BlueSky, such as these for my town of Reading: showyourstripes.info/s/europe/uni... (Find the graphic you want to share, click the blue options button - the one with three horizontal lines - and select the butterfly!)
showyourstripes.info
Show Your Stripes
Visualising how the climate has changed for every country across the globe
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Philippe Papin @pppapin.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Guess it is as good of a time as any to say this is my first week as a Senior Hurricane Specialist at NHC. Last month marked 4 years since I started at NHC & it has been an incredibly humbling yet fulfilling experience. It is an honor to keep on doing what I love, to help save lives & property. 🌀
A headshot of me from 2023
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Quinton Lawton, PhD @quintonlawton.com · 18/11/2024
After a few days out of town, I’m back in the office this week with a lovely view of the Flatirons… a great distraction from all of the work I need to get done 😅
view of the Boulder Flatirons from an office window
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sanjana! @sanjanacurtis.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
At 10k followers I will solve the Navier–Stokes equations
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