MNStorm

Incredibly, even *more* locations across U.S. are today experiencing their warmest March temperatures on record--many by a wide margin, with some even breaking April records. This includes most or all of: AZ, UT, CO, NM, WY, NE, KS, MO, IA, plus portions of many other states. 🫠

...And, again today, a huge swath of the continental United States clear across from the Pacific Coast to Mississippi River is experiencing all-time March monthly record heat. Some locations are so hot that they are actually exceeding *April* all-time record highs. Incredible.

Fair to say that the Western U.S. heatwave has reached record-shattering status, with dozens of locations breaking all-time March monthly heat records & some now approaching *April* records. Swath of record heat extends clear from Pacific to Great Plains, & from Canada to Mexico.

@nplareau Great article Neil!

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. #CampFire agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.10…

ICYMI, the #MorrillFire (which began burning in the Nebraska Panhandle on 12 March) has burned nearly 549,000 acres -- making it the largest wildfire on record for the state of Nebraska. More on the CIMSS Satellite Blog: cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog… @NWSCheyenne @NWSNorthPlatte #NEwx

The seasonal anomalousness, as well sheer spatial extent, of upcoming record-shattering Western U.S. heatwave is genuinely startling. This will be associated with, by far, the strongest ridge ever observed during (at least) any Nov-Mar month. #CAwx #AZwx #NMwx #NVwx #UTwx #COwx

Smoke plume just east of Olustee, OK from a large fire near Martha. 12pm

This is so absurd. This model run has the Western US heatwave peaking just shy of a 600DM ridge. That’s about the strongest ridge that the region has ever seen even in the middle of summer. This is not normal.

All signs continue to point to an exceptional, long-duration, and record-breaking to (in some cases) record-shattering March heatwave initially centered across U.S. Southwest but expanding to much broader region next week. This is effectively a full-on summer heatwave in March.

Satellite imagery of the front opening the south flank of these fires:

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

Wildfire outbreak ongoing in SD and NE right now. #sdwx #newx

Whew. All signs are increasingly pointing to a significant, if not strong to very strong, El Niño event. I'll have more to say in coming weeks & months, but for now I'll just say that this is increasingly likely to become a major regional-to-global climate driver in 2026-2027.

Literal hell on Earth, all of these houses of US252 in Folkston, GA are in the path of this rapidly moving wildfire that has been ongoing for several hours. Crews are working to contain this fire. @RadarOmega @weathertrackus @MaxVelocityWX

Wind has shifted so now the entire SE flank of the fire is becoming the head. #okwx #kswx

Two large fires ongoing in the OK panhandle under extreme fire weather conditions. #okwx #kswx

Great piece out today in @PhysicsToday on historical origins, contemporary relevance, & fundamental irreplaceability of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which remains at imminent risk of dismantling for partisan political reasons. physicstoday.aip.org/news/what-the-…

@USGSVolcanoes Could the V2cam be zoomed out a bit so we can see the full fountain?

Kilauea Message 2026-01-24 11:54:28 HST. Episode 41 started at 11:10 a.m. As of 11:50 a.m., both north and south vents are over 250 m (820 feet) high, and the summit tilt on UWD has already recorded 3.5 microradians of deflation.

Fast-moving & destructive wildfires--some burning into populated areas in/beyond the urban interface--have occurred across many of the Southern Hemisphere's fire prone regions (including Chile & Argentina, South Africa, & SE Australia) over last 3 weeks. theguardian.com/world/2026/jan…