Rob Lightbown (Crown Weather)
Meteorologist for Crown Weather. Avid amateur astronomer. Happily married for 15 yrs to @icecat516. Dog dad to 6 rescues. Bruins, Red Sox & Celtics fan. I live in Central Mass but have lived in Maine & New Hampshire.
Was On X/Twitter as @crownweather
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- As I posted myself & replied to someone else, when the positions opened up yesterday, I gave serious thought of applying for the openings at the 2 Maine NWS offices & the Albany, NY office. After seeing those questions, F-that!! I'll pass, thanks.
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- And I actually gave serious thought of applying for the openings at the two offices in Maine & maybe also the Albany, NY office. After seeing this BS, I'll pass on applying. And yes, I know these questions are now included w/ all government jobs & yes, I'll pass on applying for any fed jobs.
- Thanks to @johnmoralestv.bsky.social for noticing this on the open entry level NWS positions. To get your foot into the NWS, it seems as if you have to kiss the ass of the executive branch. I've given serious thought of applying for the positions at the 2 NWS offices in Maine. Now, not so much.
- @millsish.bsky.social Wanted to see if you and Peter are going to be at the Baseball Project show in Somerville, Mass on September 23rd. My wife, Meg, has been a huge fan of R.E.M. for 30-plus years and is also a huge Red Sox fan. Would love to see you and Peter on stage together. Thanks!!!
- Only a 1500 mile spread in the GFS ensemble guidance of where Invest #97L might be in 10 days from now. Seems to be 2 camps w/ 1 in the SW Atlantic & the second way out in the open Atlantic. My gut says this goes up and out, but I'm not discounting a closer approach to the SE US coast.
- Invest #97L is very close to becoming a depression over the eastern Atlantic. I do think that it will likely become a depression and then a tropical storm over the next few days. Invest 97L should stay far enough north to avoid the Lesser Antilles.
- More on Invest #97L - It's unclear where exactly Invest 97-L will track once we get into next weekend and beyond. Because of this, DO NOT fall for the social media hype on this system. We are posting comprehensive and detailed updates on Invest 97L on our website crownweather.com/discussions/
- Even more - If you are not a Crown Weather PLUS subscriber, I highly recommend that you become one. I have over 30 years of experience in tropical storm and hurricane forecasting. This means that I know what I'm talking about & I can be trusted. Link to subscribe - crownweather.com/cws-plus/
- The very much advertised tropical wave located over the far eastern Atlantic is now tagged Invest 97-L by NHC. Let the real hype begin.
- I know I'm going to regret it, but I went ahead and activated my account on the "bad site". While I love BlueSky and the interactions I have on here, it lacks the ability for me to follow breaking severe or tropical weather. Sadly, this is where the other site still excels. Ugh, I hate myself!
- As a meteorologist, I have to remind myself that while weather models are fun to look at, they are just a tool in our weather toolbox. Analysis of what's actually going on & actually analyzing what the models are showing is ALWAYS better than just looking at a model depiction.
- The new wave pushing off of the coast of Africa has now been outlooked by @nhc-atlantic.extwitter.link I definitely agree that slow development seems likely due to sub-optimal SSTs over the E & C Atlantic. Faster development may occur once this wave hits 55-60 W longitude.
- While I do think that this tropical wave definitely needs to be watched extremely closely next week as it heads across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic, I AM NOT ringing the alarm bells for anyone, just yet.
- I wrote a detailed discussion about my thoughts on this tropical wave at crownweather.com/discussions/ . f you are not a Crown Weather PLUS subscriber, I highly recommend that you become one by going the following link - crownweather.com/cws-plus/ .
- It appears that there is going to be a burst of tropical activity across the Atlantic over the next week or so. In fact, we are watching several areas with interest. All of these were extensively discussed in our latest weather update that can be found at crownweather.com/discussions/ .
- I wanted to take a moment to invite you to become a Crown Weather PLUS subscriber by going to the following link - crownweather.com/cws-plus/ . The cost of a subscription is well worth the money given what you get in return for being updated on the latest about the tropics.
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- I wonder what will happen when the eastern Wyoming ITCZ combines with the Yellowstone Super Volcano.
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- Same!! NOVA’s “Tornado!” and then “Hurricane” in 1989 were huge influences on me to study meteorology. We had no cable growing up and I used to religiously watch “A.M. Weather” every morning before going to school. Had such a big influence that I hand drew a current weather map based on what I saw.
- CBS is pathetic and sad.
- Well, with no contracts to renew, if I was Colbert, I'd run the show w/ no f's to give (more so than he already does). The downfall of CBS is now done. Cronkite is spinning in his grave.
- A legit tornado signature in the woods west of Ashland in northern Maine. Also that part of the storm seems to be turning more to the right & may head for the more populated towns such as Ashland, Washburn & even Caribou. I used to live in this part of Maine for 26 years, so I know it well.
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- So the earthquake shook at an approximate 10:1 ratio.
- TSUNAMI WARNING for all areas along the Alaskan Peninsula as a 7.2 magnitude earthquake has occurred only 50 miles south of Sand Point, AK.
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- Everything's fine in Florida. Nothing to see here. WTAF!!!!! THOUSANDS will drown in those cages in the detention center in the Glades when the next hurricane impacts. They wont evacuate the detainees, the guards will just abandon their posts & leave them behind. Worse than 1928 or 1935.
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- I will NEVER understand the MAGA cult. If I ever told customers of mine weak & that their opinions are BS, I'd be out of business within a week. The dude's dementia continue to make him meaner, crueler and more evil.
- Yet another system that a majority of the weather models are not doing a good job forecasting. All models are under forecasting the overall structure of low pressure just east of Melbourne, Florida. Is this due to the reduced number of sites that do weather balloon launches? I absolutely think so.
- Meanwhile, over on X:
- Just when I question myself whether it was a good idea to quit X, delete my account & maybe go back, this type of post pops up & reaffirms that I made a good decision after all.
- Area of disturbed weather off of SE US coast should be watched once it gets into the northern Gulf by Wed/Thu. ICON model continues to be the most aggressive w/ showing it becoming a bonefide TS. Other guidance much more muted & barely shows anything. Will be watching throughout this week.
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- First, the assassination attempt was a f'n hoax (it's a hill that I'll die on). Second - he's far more evil & cruel now than he was before & certainly moreso than during his 1st term. I think his dementia has made him meaner & crueler.
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- What a shit take!! Emma is more than welcome to bake in a stifling hot home - I'm not going to & I'm certainly not going to make my wife suffer. Heat exhaustion/stroke is not the way I want to leave this world because Emma feels guilty & wants us to feel guilty (I don't at all feel guilty).
- Need more accounts like this to counter false narratives out there about warnings
- Oh, now I really have ??? about WHY the summer camp with the young girls wasn't evacuated. If warnings were being received on phones and smart devices, then there was plenty of time to take action. Also, the last sentence of the sounds in the video gave me chills, even without seeing the video.
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- The scary part up here in Southern New England is that we have a lot of tree overgrowth. Even a Category 1 hurricane would produce fairly significant damage in terms of downed trees & power lines. Now, a Cat 2 or Cat 3 up here would be a very destructive storm in terms of surge & wind damage.
- Was curious to see what the hurricane season for 1869 was like, besides Saxby Gale. A Cat 2 hurricane made landfall on Matagorda Island in mid-Aug; A Cat 1 hurricane made landfall just W of NOLA in early Sep & only 3 days later a Cat 3 hurricane made landfall in E parts of Southern New England.
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- Meteorologists like to believe they can save everyone from bad weather. Admirable if misguided. People have to listen. In case you haven’t noticed we’re not exactly in the prime listening to expertise era.
- It took me a long time w/ a lot of therapy for me to understand the phrase "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink" I used to take it personally & would be traumatized & depressed when people wouldn't listen to evacuation orders & then be killed. Ike & the Bolivar almost broke me
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- It's the same type of thinking when houses are allowed to be built in known storm surge zones, are destroyed by a hurricane & then are allowed to be built again. People don't believe a disaster will happen to them.
- I wanted to dig in more to understand the forecasts after the Texas flooding tragedy. Tough one to write knowing what happened.
- Absolutely agree that this is a tough one, for sure & has hit harder than other disasters. About a decade ago, my wife was a Girl Scouts troop leader & they were right around the same age as the girls in that summer camp. Couldn't imagine her losing an entire "troop" in one disaster.
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- This is a worse batting average than all of the roster of the Red Sox, which is really saying something.
- Trump calls for deporting US citizens: "We also have a lot of bad people that have been here for a long time ... many of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here too, if you want to know the truth. So maybe that'll be the next job."
- You first bone spurs, then deport the couch fucker right after that.
- I can't even. I'm just going to log off for the day after I post this. We would completely lose AOML, which does some of the hurricane modeling research & we would lose ARL, which models air pollution transport & wildfire smoke transport. I'm just done for the day.
- What a tragedy this is even being proposed on paper... 💔 NOAA FY2026 Congressional Justification: www.noaa.gov/sites/defaul...
- @wickydubswx.bsky.social I’ve highlighted the part that mentions AOML.
- I mean what could go wrong cutting off detailed SSMI data during the peak hurricane season months. A delay until even November 1st would suffice - at least then we would have the winter months to figure things out.
- 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...
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- As I just commented on someone else's skeet: I keep hoping that this stupid ass decision gets reversed. The loss of SSMI is going to set back observation & forecast of TCs by at least 25-30 years, if not more. People WILL die from delayed evacuation notices due to unseen RI & errors in center fixes.
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- I keep hoping that this stupid ass DOD decision gets reversed. The loss of SSMI is going to set back the observation and forecast of tropical cyclones by at least 25-30 years, if not more. People WILL die from delayed evacuation notices due to unseen RI & errors in center fixes.
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- Such classic gaslighting.
- I did a handful of interviews yesterday on the imminent shutdown of SSMIS data flow and the expected consequences for hurricane forecasting at NHC. I've tried to collect and polish up my thoughts on the topic, attached...
- Nice writeup. This death of data by a thousand cuts is going to end up setting us back to how we were forecasting in the 1980s and 1990s. Ugh.
- Every summer I think the same thing - How do y'all in the South stand the heat/humidity for months at a time. This is day 3 of 90-plus degree temps combined with 70-plus degree dew point temps up here in Mass. It's miserable & draining (even w/ window A/C units). Already ready for Winter!!
- How it feels going outside right now here in Sturbridge, Mass. Temp: 93 Degrees, Dew Point Temp: 74 Degrees, "Feels Like": 104 Degrees.
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- Seems like the ceasefire is all in Trump's head. bsky.app/profile/pete...
- Looks like Trump was shit posting about the ceasefire. Not surprised at all - He has never had a clue of what's going on & more than likely, there is no ceasefire at all. It's all in his demented, delusional imagination.
- Trump's announcement of a ceasefire caught even some of his own top officials by surprise. Israel has not yet confirmed the cease-fire and within hours of the announcement there were fresh Israeli attacks against Iran. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/w...
- And here we go. Things are REALLY about to go to shit.
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- But I thought I had 2 weeks until nuclear winter hit my house.
