Weather/Space Weather Enthusiast Cornell AS ‘30 Rainbow Space Lights x 2️⃣3️⃣ 🌪️ x 0️⃣ https://nitter.cf/t.co/qUOJ9Ybsox
Armonk, NY
Joined January 2025
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Finally some noteworthy sunspot developments!
AR4566 has developed some respectable polarity mixing in its trailing section, and flux is emerging steadily. It also appears that the main two sunspots clusters are moving towards one another.
Something to watch.
Zach Berman retweeted
The “ball rolling down a hill” analogy is a classic physics conceptual tool for visualizing stability, and it can be applied to parcel theory to understand CAPE, CIN, and entrainment CAPE as well
Zach Berman retweeted
People are taking more pictures now, than ever before. Billions of them. But there’s no darkrooms, no prints anymore. It’s all just data, phone screens, electronic dust.
Make your work physical. It belongs off a screen. Order a copy, make a calendar, go to Walgreens. Print it out.
Zach Berman retweeted
On November 2, the Suomi-NPP satellite was decommissioned. Launched on October 28, 2011, it carried the VIIRS instrument which featured 22 high-resolution spectral bands including the Day/Night Band. This band can image light sources at night, like city lights and aurora.
ALT This composite image of the western hemisphere at night contains the Day/Night Band (NCC) product from the S-NPP weather satellite on 2026-03-21.
Zach Berman retweeted
Here's a scan-by-scan breakdown of the thunderstorm cell that N722BD flew into. We've contoured the 30 dBZ surface, which signifies where moderate precipitation was present.
The thunderstorm cell grew to 48,300 feet by 12:56 p.m., meaning that, at 12:48 p.m. when the plane flew through, it was still rapidly growing vertically. 15,000 feet of growth in under 20 minutes is a VERY intense updraft.
Now what about icing? It's true that the ambient temperature OUTSIDE the storm was around minus-45 degrees Fahrenheit. That's generally too cold for icing, which requires supercooled water droplets – i.e. water droplets that remain a liquid at temperatures below freezing. Water sometimes is slow to freeze UNLESS it has something to freeze onto – like a cold surface (a plane). At minus-45, moisture would have already frozen into ice crystals, i.e. snowflakes, which aren't really dangerous to aviation.
HOWEVER, the rapid growth of this thunderstorm cell 1.) carried LOTS of heat upwards, bending temperature surfaces and probably making the core of the thunderstorm cell 15 to 20+ degrees warmer. That warmth was probably amplified by the latent heat release of water droplets freezing, as my colleague Roger Edwards adroitly pointed out, and 2.) the swift updraft probably transported large, tropical raindrops upwards so quickly that some liquid remained even at altitude.
A study in the journal "Nature" found that deep convective (thunderstorm) clouds regularly have supercooled water droplets down to minis-38 degrees, and it's probable that, at 35,000 feet, the temperatures inside this cloud were warmer.
Therefore, while this wouldn't ordinarily be an "obvious" icing case, the forensic meteorology suggests icing as a probable contributing factor or cause. The NTSB will continue to investigate.
Zach Berman retweeted
A plane crashes in Florida, lives are lost, and within HOURS the blue-checkmark crowd is blaming a female pilot and screaming “DEI.”
Here's the problem: They don't understand how a two-pilot cockpit works.
As a pilot, I'm disgusted. Watch this before you embarrass yourself.
Zach Berman retweeted
Nearby ACARs sounding reveals a profile favorable for ice above ~15-20kft. The plane was up over 40kft before rapidly descending, with storm Echo Tops around 40kft as well.
The NTSB will definitely be doing some investigation on exactly what happened and why... Absolutely terrible situation, Rest In Peace to the nine souls on board...
We’re following reports of an aircraft crash near Palm Beach, Florida. Based on ADS-B data, it appears that the involved aircraft is N722BD, a Learjet 60. Last data from the aircraft was at altitude 8,750 ft. Max vertical speed was more than -32,000 fpm.
flightradar24.com/data/aircr…
Icing stands out to me most as a potential contributing cause of the incident. Total speculation as to how big of a role it may have played, but even small icing can cause danger in combination with other factors. For example, AF 447, where iced sensors --> human error --> stall.
Zach Berman retweeted
Long investigation ahead for NTSB, but a few key early points:
– issues arose at 5:48 p.m. when plane was at ~35,000 feet
– plane impacted ground within 90 seconds
– temperatures were around -45ºF
– humid atmospheric column
– icing may have been a factor
– t'storms in vicinity
“Holy f*ck, we’re out of time” Heart crushing ATC audio captures the moments before a Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, killing all 9 souls on board.
VIA: @thenewarea51
Zach Berman retweeted
So it was headed to the Bahamas and was up at FL340 (34,000ft). Radar at the time. Heavy to Extreme convection with tops over 40,000ft.
Dot dot dot.
We’re following reports of an aircraft crash near Palm Beach, Florida. Based on ADS-B data, it appears that the involved aircraft is N722BD, a Learjet 60. Last data from the aircraft was at altitude 8,750 ft. Max vertical speed was more than -32,000 fpm.
flightradar24.com/data/aircr…
Zach Berman retweeted
I know this is a meme, but the meteorology space needs to be welcoming and accessible to all, not intimidating or worse condescending. I've seen it in other communities and even in ours sometimes, and it's demoralizing.
There are lots of people out there who love the weather, but may not have the degree or the same type of experience. They should be embraced and not hesitant to post things out of fear even if it's not super technical or all the way accurate.
Everyone has to start somewhere, we've all been there, and that's how we learn and grow.
Zach Berman retweeted
Some random evening thoughts... if you're a weather enthusiast or meteorology student, you shouldn't be afraid of posting an analysis that might not be meteorologically 100% accurate. None of us were born knowing meteorology - but it helps being open & willing to learn.
Zach Berman retweeted
Although our moonless window is short tonight, mid-latitude auroras may be possible if this lasts!
#aurora #northernlights
