Andrew Freedman

@climatecentral.org has made a bunch of superstar ex NOAA hires, most recently picking up Adam Smith and Ellen Mecray. Adam ran the billion dollar disaster database, and Ellen led the charge on sector impacts, so I'm so happy to see this dynamic duo back in the saddle (via @tdiliberto.bsky.social)

Two senior NOAA officials were just placed on leave. Both led ‘Sharpiegate’ inquiry | CNN While the reasoning behind the move is not clear, the two officials affected led the investigation into whether NOAA’s scientific integrity policies were violated during the so-called Sharpiegate scan...

SCOOP: Two senior NOAA officials were just placed on leave. Both led ‘Sharpiegate’ inquiry www.cnn.com/2025/07/25/w...

Where the next deadly flood wave could strike | CNN The ingredients that led to the Hill Country disaster — steep terrain, swollen rivers and unsuspecting people in harm’s way — are not unique to Texas.

Kudos to the team involved with it, there are some good resources here for readers. It shows how flash flood risks span the country, from Santa Barbara, Calif. to the Catskills. Many people likely underestimate their flash flood risk exposure www.cnn.com/2025/07/24/c...

At @cnn.com, we examined flash flood hot spots around the country to show readers where the risk of the next deadly "flood wave" is highest. Some of these findings surprised me. This team project is for subscribers, done with the help of First Street & our data viz team (1/2)

Landmark ICJ advisory opinion still being delivered

We've just heard: "Fossil fuel production, consumption, the granting of FF exploration licences or the provision of fossil fuel subsidies may constitute an internationally wrongful act attributable to that state."

webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1c...

The NWS is soliciting comments through January 26, 2026, on the potential utility of Bluesky in the NWS mission. Bluesky is a social media platform that can provide a way for the NWS to share posts providing additional information that is complementary to official NWS products and outreach information. For a limited time, NWS will be engaging in a prototype activity to examine the potential utility of this social media platform to support operations. This prototype effort will utilize a national NWS Bluesky account, with posts being publicly visible via the following NWS Bluesky account page: https://bsky.app/profile/nws.noaa.gov . Additional information on the prototype use of Bluesky can be found at the following link: https://nsdesk.servicenowservices.com/api/g_noa/nwspc/res2/d664da9797aa62 148881bb7de053af4f The prototype period will last approximately through January 26, 2026. Based on the findings, NWS will determine whether to continue to pursue use of Bluesky at field offices. If NWS decides to pursue use of Bluesky and offer this service on a more consistent basis, another Public Information Notice announcing an experimental implementation date will be sent. Bluesky content and response to real-time comments will be provided on a time-available basis. Users should not rely on this service as the primary means of receiving NWS information about hazardous weather conditions. Users should tune to NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards (NWR) or local/national media sources for the latest critical information. NWS alerts and warnings are also available on the official NWS website:

The NWS is doing a test run of using Bluesky.

www.weather.gov/media/notifi...

Sen. Cantwell's letter is designed to get Republican support, avoiding climate change mentions and focusing instead on how to bring the US on par with its international peers when it comes to forecast accuracy. (2/2)

Key senator makes bipartisan plea to Trump to invest in weather and early warning networks | CNN Sen. Maria Cantwell’s letter advocating that the administration work with Congress to pursue bipartisan forecasting investments comes in the wake of devastating flash floods in Texas on the night of J...

Key Democratic senator writes to President Trump calling for a big investment in weather forecasting and early warning systems. Comes in the wake of the Texas disaster, & admin cuts to NOAA. www.cnn.com/2025/07/21/w... (1/2)

This is the summer of flooding across the US, and scientists know why | CNN Summer has increasingly become a season marked by deadly disasters, underscoring the escalating volatility of our warming world.

Scientists say they know why these flash floods are occurring -- with stuck weather patterns and climate change-driven trends playing major roles. www.cnn.com/2025/07/20/c...

This is the summer of flash flooding in the US, from New Mexico to Texas to NYC. (After yday, the DC metro area could be added to this list, too.) (1/2)

Trump admin to proceed with groundbreaking flash flood risk database, reversing course after media reports | CNN The Trump administration has changed course and is moving ahead with work to develop a new database that would provide Americans with precise estimates of their flash flood risk in a warming world.

NOAA is now clear to proceed with both volumes of what is known as Atlas 15, which will show people their flash flood risk now and in a warming world, through FY 2026. www.cnn.com/2025/07/18/w...

NEW: New: Trump administration to proceed with groundbreaking flash flood risk database following media covg. this week. Contracts had been under review for about a month, raising suspicions it was being held up due to climate change content. (1/2)

Trump administration pauses research on flooding risk as over 100 perish in deadly summer floods | CNN The Trump administration has paused work on a new database that would provide Americans with precise estimates of the likelihood of extreme precipitation events in a warming world — a warning of their...

The first part of the flood risk update, known as Atlas 15, is still proceeding. It's the second part, the one that deals more with climate change, that has hit some turbulence. www.cnn.com/2025/07/16/w...

In this summer of floods, the Trump administration has paused potentially life-saving research on how flood risks are shifting due to climate change in the US. This story confirms a
@sarahkaplan48.bsky.social scoop from today & adds some more reporting. (1/2)

Pretty remarkable that we’ve seen a record for flood warnings this year!

Texas NWS office had no warning coordination meteorologist during the flood. Did it make a difference? | CNN On the night the deadly floodwaters raged down the Guadalupe River in Texas, the National Weather Service forecast office in Austin/San Antonio was missing a key member of its team: the warning coordi...

DOGE-related cuts left a key Texas NWS office without a warning coordination meteorologist on the night of the deadly floods. Did this make a difference in how the agency issued potentially lifesaving warnings? www.cnn.com/2025/07/13/w...

What to know ahead of Trump's AI summit next week The summit will feature, in addition to President Trump, a slew of technology and energy heavyweights.

A summit next week in Pittsburgh on energy and AI featuring President Trump and tech giants will likely spotlight fossil fuels as the best way to quench data centers' electricity thirst. www.axios.com/pro/energy-p...

The Trump admin just hired 3 outspoken climate contrarians. Scientists are worried what comes next | CNN The Trump admin just hired 3 outspoken climate contrarians. Scientists are worried what comes next

Confirming
@maxinejoselow.bsky.social
's scoop: DOE has hired 3 prominent climate contrarian's, and mainstream climate scientists are worried about what's next... W/ @ellanilsen.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2025/07/08/c...

The Trump admin just hired 3 outspoken climate contrarians. Scientists are worried what comes next | CNN The Trump admin just hired 3 outspoken climate contrarians. Scientists are worried what comes next

Confirming @maxinejoselow.bsky.social's scoop: DOE has hired 3 prominent climate contrarian's, and mainstream climate scientists are worried about what's next... www.cnn.com/2025/07/08/c...

FEMA response to deadly Texas floods delayed & deficient with Noem in charge Staffers sound the alarm.

"Despite Trump officially activating FEMA on Sunday, FEMA has just 86 total staff deployed at this point [to Texas], according to figures shared with staff Monday evening...In the past it would normally be in the several hundreds at this point in the disaster recovery process."

My latest:

Local officials facing questions over lack of preparations in the years and hours before deadly Texas floods | CNN As Central Texas reels from flash floods that killed over 100 people this weekend, questions are sharpening about whether officials could have done more to avert the tragedy – both in the decades lead...

"A review of... communications from a real-time messaging system operated by the NWS showed that no emergency manager from Kerr County was sending messages or interacting with NWS staff on the platform, even as emergency officials from other counties were doing so."

www.cnn.com/2025/07/07/u...

Local officials facing questions over lack of preparations in the years and hours before deadly Texas floods | CNN As Central Texas reels from flash floods that killed over 100 people this weekend, questions are sharpening about whether officials could have done more to avert the tragedy – both in the decades lead...

So many questions regarding storm preparations & response efforts in Texas. Story includes some insights gleaned from an NWS messaging system used for media, emergency management interactions. www.cnn.com/2025/07/07/u...

Most questions revolve around the so-called "last mile" problem of weather forecasting. That is, did the warnings get to those who needed it most? Did people know how to respond? Did the cell phone alerts reach everyone? Too much warning fatigue? (2/2)

Beleaguered Weather Service defends its forecasts as Texas officials point fingers over flood warnings | CNN Texas forecasters issued a series of early-morning warnings about “life-threatening flooding” along the Guadalupe River.

As the death toll climbs in the wake of the Texas floods, lots of finger-pointing re: the NWS' forecasts and warnings. The bottom line: An agency reeling from cuts still issued timely outlooks & warnings. Lots of ?s though (1/2) www.cnn.com/2025/07/05/c...

For those looking for the National Climate Assessments:

NCA5 (2023): repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/61...
NCA4 vol. 1 (2017): repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/19...
NCA4 vol. 2 (2018): repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/19...
NCA3 (2014): repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/19...

The ‘Great Dying’ wiped out 90% of life, then came 5 million years of lethal heat. New fossils explain why | CNN A mass extinction event wiped out around 90% of life. What followed has long puzzled scientists: The planet became lethally hot for 5 million years. Researchers say they have figured out why using a v...

Around 252 million years ago, life on Earth suffered its most catastrophic blow to date: a mass extinction event known as the “Great Dying” that wiped out around 90% of life.

Trump admin tries to kill the most indisputable evidence of human-caused climate change by shuttering observatory | CNN The Mauna Loa laboratory in Hawaii has measured atmospheric carbon dioxide, which — along with other planet-warming pollution — has led directly to climate change, driving sea level rise, superchargin...

NEW: Trump admin seeks to defund US network of labs that monitor CO2 levels in the atmosphere, including Mauna Loa, home to the famous "Keeling Curve." The moves would also affect weather forecasting centers. www.cnn.com/2025/07/01/c...

Trump admin will cut hurricane forecasters out of key satellite data in one month | CNN The Defense Department will still maintain the satellite program will cease sharing the imagery with NOAA and NASA.

NEW: Hurricane forecasters at NOAA are getting a one-month reprieve before crucial satellite data is cut off by the Defense Dept. Delay is due to NOAA, NASA pushback because of the potential forecasting ramifications. edition.cnn.com/2025/06/30/w...

RECORD TEMPERATURE RESOURCE:

Not only can you dive into LOCAL temp records, but it includes a summary of ALL records being set!

@climatecentral.org @borenbears.bsky.social @afreedma.bsky.social @zacklabe.com @katharinehayhoe.com
climatecentral.observablehq.cloud/local-record...

"The heat wave comes as the odds of extreme heat events globally are growing steeply as the world warms, along with their severity and duration...Heat waves are the type of extreme weather event that scientists can most reliably tie to climate change caused by fossil fuel pollution." (2/2)