Kim Wood

@drkimwood

Associate professor at UArizona. Hurricane mortician. Science communicator. Open science + Python + 🐈 enthusiast. This is my only bsky account. Opinions mine.

314 Siguiendo5178 Seguidores1360 Publicaciones

Bluesky

¿Es tu perfil?Reclámalo y drkimwood.dirty.social es tuyo.Reclamar perfil

Kim Wood@drkimwood· 3h

One factor supporting the forecast for intensification is relatively warm water along the storm's expected path as captured by Argo floats. However, Lala has been ingesting dry air, which limits how much it could intensify before affecting land.

Recent temperature profiles observed by Argo floats in the eastern Pacific Ocean along the official forecast cone from advisory 008 for Tropical Storm Lala.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· 3h

Since 1970, 27 tropical cyclones (TCs) have approached within 250 km of the Hawaiian islands. Tropical Storm #Lala is expected to become the 28th. Lala's expected motion would increase right-of-track onshore flow in mountainous terrain, exacerbating freshwater flooding and mudslide concerns.

Map spanning 175-140°W, 10-28°N approximately centered on the Hawaiian islands. Dashed blue lines show the tracks of 27 TCs that approached within 250 km of the islands during 1970-2025. Translucent cone shows Lala's official forecast track as of 11pm HST 13 August 2026.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· 1d

The Niño 3.4 region isn't just warm at the ocean surface: that (well-mixed!) warmth extends rather deep too as shown by recent Argo float measurements.

2-panel figure with Argo profiles at top (measurements of ocean temperature within the top 120 meters of the sea surface) and a map of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) from NOAA for the Niño 3.4 region at bottom. Boxed region represents the 5°S-5°N, 170-120°W span of this ENSO monitoring region. Argo observations occurred during 9-11 August 2026, and the map corresponds with the daily SST anomalies for 11 August 2026. On the map, locations of solid profiles are represented by matching-color circles and dashed profiles by matching-color squares.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· 4d

The equatorial Pacific and the region where most eastern north Pacific tropical cyclones form sure are warm relative to the rest of the tropics.

Time series chart for 2026 (so far) of daily average sea surface temperature (SST) differences between multiple tropical domains and the tropical mean computed between 20°S-20°N (values known as "relative SST"). Shown are the eastern Indian Ocean and western Indian Ocean regions used for the Dipole Mode Index (DMI), the Pacific warm pool, and the Niño 3, Niño 4, Niño 3.4, and Niño 1+2 regions. The inset map depicts each region's geographic extent, with the rectangle color matching the time series line color for that region. The two dashed lines correspond with the North Atlantic and eastern North Pacific main development regions for TCs. All values computed from NOAA's OISST dataset using Python.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· 18d

54-hour animation (just over 2 days) of infrared satellite imagery (left) and NHC estimated intensity (right) for eastern North Pacific Hurricane Genevieve, which strengthened by 60 kt in 24 hours, later briefly achieving category 5 status. Satellite images extend ~600 km from the storm center.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· Jul 12

The two invest areas that the NHC is currently watching in this part of the eastern North Pacific (circled in purple below) sure won't be limited by energy from the ocean.

eastern North Pacific tropical weather outlook map from the National Hurricane Center (purple circle annotation around the two invests in the main development region)

Kim Wood@drkimwood· Jul 12

Yesterday's value of 29.71⁰C is the highest daily average for this region during the time frame of 1982 to present, just barely beating the record set on 11 August 2023 (29.7⁰C) 🫠 The dashed box region for averaging (see inset map) encompasses 10-20⁰N and from 124⁰W to the North American coastline.

Chart of area-averaged daily sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical eastern North Pacific between 10-20⁰N, 124⁰W and the North American coastline, as of 11 July 2026. Black shows the 1991-2020 average, orange shows 2024, red shows 2025, and blue shows 2026 (to this date). The faint gray lines are individual years during 1982-2023. An inset map depicts July 11th's map of anomalies, where the dashed box represents the averaging region used to make the line plot values. These are computed from NOAA's OISST dataset using Python.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· Jul 9

That said, the ENSO monitoring region (Niño 3.4, black dashed box on inset map) continues its warming trend relative to the global tropics (20°S-20°N) as shown by the black line in the time series. The purple dashed line shows the ENP MDR, which appears to be keeping pace with the Niño 3.4 values!

Time series chart for 2026 (so far) of daily sea surface temperature (SST) differences between multiple tropical domains and the tropical mean ("relative SST") computed between 20°S-20°N. Shown are the eastern Indian Ocean and western Indian Ocean regions used for the Dipole Mode Index (DMI), the Pacific warm pool, and the Niño 3, Niño 4, Niño 3.4, and Niño 1+2 regions. The inset map depicts each region's geographic extent, with the rectangle color matching the time series line color for that region. The two dashed lines correspond with the North Atlantic and eastern North Pacific main development regions for TCs. All values computed from NOAA's OISST dataset using Python.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· Jul 9

A few notes here: - region spans 10-20°N, the main development region in the eastern North Pacific, *not* the ENSO monitoring region - it's very warm in the ENP MDR, but that warmth tends to be shallow as captured by Argo float profiles - SST gradient NW of the ENP MDR is still present (but shifted)

Kim Wood@drkimwood· Jul 7

"wait, it gets worse"

Chart of area-averaged daily sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical eastern North Pacific between 124W and the North American coastline as of 6 July 2026. Black shows the 1991-2020 average, orange shows 2024, red shows 2025, and blue shows 2026 (to this date). The faint gray lines are individual years during 1982-2023. An inset map depicts July 6th's map of anomalies, where the dashed box represents the averaging region used to make the line plot values. These are computed from NOAA's OISST dataset using Python.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· Jun 22

7-day running means of daily ENSO longitude index (ELI) values from NOAA's OISST for 1997, 2015, 2023, and 2026 (so far). ELI approximates the longitude of the rising branch of the Pacific Walker circulation: higher values are farther east (more El Niño), lower values farther west (more La Niña).

Time series chart for 2026 (as of 21 June) in blue, 1997 in dashed red, 2015 in dashed orange, and 2023 in dashed brown of ELI values computed from NOAA's OISST dataset using Python. ELI is computed as the average longitude where Pacific SSTs exceed the tropical mean (SST averaged over the 5°S-5°N domain) following Williams & Patricola (2018, GRL).

Kim Wood@drkimwood· Jun 15

Pretty sunset thunderstorm rolling through the mountains north of Tucson may have sparked a wildfire this evening (blurry due to extreme zoom). Is it possible to submit sightings via Watch Duty?

Mountain with pink sunset sky in background and possible wildfire in foreground

Kim Wood@drkimwood· Jun 10

Many tropical ocean regions used in SST monitoring are warmer than the tropical mean as of late, with two exceptions: the Niño 1+2 region off the Pacific coast of South America and the North Atlantic main development region (MDR).

Kim Wood@drkimwood· Jun 9

Charts of daily sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the Niño 3.4 monitoring region since April 20 show a warming trend, followed by a plateau, followed by another spike in SSTs... now well above any year for this date since 1982.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· Jun 9

The past week has been busy in the eastern North Pacific as the first three named storms of the season (Amanda, Boris, Cristina) formed. Amanda was one of the farthest west TC formations on record for June. Boris and Cristina are both expected to remain tropical storms while producing heavy rain.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· Jun 3

The first tropical cyclone (TC) of the 2026 eastern North Pacific hurricane season formed yesterday, June 2, in a region where development is rare for this time of year. It's expected to reach tropical storm (and thus named) status later today.

National Hurricane Center forecast cone for TD One-E valid as of 2 AM PDT on June 3 (corresponding with Advisory 3).

Map of genesis locations (where tropical cyclones, or TCs, first reach tropical status) in the eastern North Pacific. Dots show past years with colors corresponding to the decade in which those storms formed. The star with the "One" label shows TD One's formation location on 2 June 2026.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· Jun 2

Here are a few recent Argo profiles along EP01's expected path. The blue line is the profile closest to the storm, showing a shallow layer of quite warm water near the eastern North Pacific's first tropical cyclone of the season. (Argo, the blorbo from my livestream?)

Three Argo float temperature profiles in the eastern Pacific Ocean along the first NHC advisory forecast cone for EP01, a tropical depression expected to become a tropical storm soon.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· May 29

The warmest spots vary a bit from day to day, but overall, the area in the eastern North Pacific where most of this basin's tropical cyclones (TCs) tend to develop—the ocean region within the dashed box on the inset map—is extremely warm for this time of year.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· May 27

The ridiculous heat wave hitting western Europe is showing up in SST anomalies as well, with many locations now exceeding daily anomalies of +3°C. 🥵

Chart of area-averaged daily sea surface temperature (SST) in the Mediterranean Sea as of 26 May 2026. Black shows the 1991-2020 average, orange shows 2024, red shows 2025, and blue shows 2026 (to this date). The faint gray lines are individual years during 1982-2023. An inset map depicts May 26th's map of anomalies, where the dashed box represents the averaging region used to make the line plot values. These are computed from NOAA's OISST dataset using Python.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· May 26

😑

Kim Wood@drkimwood· May 19

😅 something like this?

Kim Wood@drkimwood· May 19

Relative sea surface temperatures (SSTs) on a daily basis for 2026 (through 17 May), 2015, 1997, and 1982. The latter three years are shown as points of comparison given that they were also El Niño onset years.

Time series chart for 2015 of daily sea surface temperature (SST) differences between multiple tropical domains and the tropical mean ("relative SST"). Shown are the eastern Indian Ocean and western Indian Ocean regions used for the Dipole Mode Index (DMI), the Pacific warm pool, and the Niño 3, Niño 4, Niño 3.4, and Niño 1+2 regions. The inset map depicts each region's geographic extent, with the rectangle color matching the time series line color for that region. All values computed from NOAA's OISST dataset using Python.

Time series chart for 1997 of daily sea surface temperature (SST) differences between multiple tropical domains and the tropical mean ("relative SST"). Shown are the eastern Indian Ocean and western Indian Ocean regions used for the Dipole Mode Index (DMI), the Pacific warm pool, and the Niño 3, Niño 4, Niño 3.4, and Niño 1+2 regions. The inset map depicts each region's geographic extent, with the rectangle color matching the time series line color for that region. All values computed from NOAA's OISST dataset using Python.

Time series chart for 1982 of daily sea surface temperature (SST) differences between multiple tropical domains and the tropical mean ("relative SST"). Shown are the eastern Indian Ocean and western Indian Ocean regions used for the Dipole Mode Index (DMI), the Pacific warm pool, and the Niño 3, Niño 4, Niño 3.4, and Niño 1+2 regions. The inset map depicts each region's geographic extent, with the rectangle color matching the time series line color for that region. All values computed from NOAA's OISST dataset using Python.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· May 18

Evolution of daily sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies over the tropical Eastern Pacific during the first half of May 2026 from NOAA's OISST dataset. The colorbar shows the % of pixels in each 0.5°C bin. Edge bins contain all values below -3°C (darkest blue) or above +3°C (darkest red).

Kim Wood@drkimwood· May 15

With hurricane season once again upon us, here's my resource page on "ingredients" that support TC formation: 1) warm ocean water 2) atmospheric moisture 3) low vertical wind shear 4) atmospheric instability 5) distance from the equator 6) a "seed" disturbance kouya.has.arizona.edu/tropics/ingr...

Map spanning the eastern North Pacific and North Atlantic basins showing NOAA sea surface temperature (SST) data averaged during August-September 1991-2020. Black contour indicates the 26°C isotherm (constant line of SST -- temperatures above this value are more likely to support TCs).

Map spanning the eastern North Pacific and North Atlantic basins showing relative humidity in the lower to mid troposphere (the part of the atmosphere that has weather) averaged during August-September 1991-2020. More moist air (higher humidity) tends to better support the thunderstorms that "power" tropical cyclones (TCs).

Map spanning the eastern North Pacific and North Atlantic basins showing vertical wind shear averaged during August-September 1991-2020. Lower values of wind shear (lighter colors) can support the development of disturbances that can become tropical cyclones (TCs). Wind shear values higher than the black contour often prevent TC formation.

Map spanning the eastern North Pacific and North Atlantic basins showing potential intensity (PI) averaged during August-September 1991-2020. Higher values of potential intensity imply a more thermodynamically favorable environment: air parcels have more energy and can more easily rise to release that energy into the atmosphere, helping the thunderstorms that "power" tropical cyclones (TCs).

Kim Wood@drkimwood· May 12

multiple ocean regions as warm as or much warmer than 2024 and 2025. which were not impending El Niño years. on May 11.

Chart of area-averaged daily sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical eastern North Pacific between 124-170W as of 11 May 2026. Black shows the 1991-2020 average, orange shows 2024, red shows 2025, and blue shows 2026 (to this date). The faint gray lines are individual years during 1982-2023. An inset map depicts May 11th's map of anomalies, where the dashed box represents the averaging region used to make the line plot values. These are computed from NOAA's OISST dataset using Python.

Chart of area-averaged daily sea surface temperature (SST) in the Gulf of Mexico as of 11 May 2026. Black shows the 1991-2020 average, orange shows 2024, red shows 2025, and blue shows 2026 (to this date). The faint gray lines are individual years during 1982-2023. An inset map depicts May 11th's map of anomalies, where the dashed box represents the averaging region used to make the line plot values. These are computed from NOAA's OISST dataset using Python.

Chart of area-averaged daily sea surface temperature (SST) in the subtropical North Atlantic as of 11 May 2026. Black shows the 1991-2020 average, orange shows 2024, red shows 2025, and blue shows 2026 (to this date). The faint gray lines are individual years during 1982-2023. An inset map depicts May 11th's map of anomalies, where the dashed box represents the averaging region used to make the line plot values. These are computed from NOAA's OISST dataset using Python.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· May 6

New SST monitoring product is being tested! This chart shows relative SST from NOAA's daily OISST dataset, here plotted through 4 May 2026.

Time series chart of daily sea surface temperature (SST) differences between multiple tropical domains and the tropical mean. Shown are the eastern Indian Ocean and western Indian Ocean regions used for the Dipole Mode Index (DMI), the Pacific warm pool, and the Niño 3, Niño 4, Niño 3.4, and Niño 1+2 regions. The inset map depicts each region's geographic extent, with the rectangle color matching the time series line color for that region.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· May 1

Python being able to make QR codes makes me very happy

Screenshot of Python code that reads as follows

"""
Command to install qrcode package while ensuring Pillow is also available:
>>> pip install qrcode[pil]
"""
import qrcode

URL = 'your URL here'
img = qrcode.make(URL)
img.save('new-QR-code.png')

Kim Wood@drkimwood· May 1

Periodic reminder of the daily SST monitoring page that I maintain for several regions as shown below: kouya.has.arizona.edu/tropics/SSTm...

Map depicting several monitoring regions for time series of daily sea surface temperature (SST) provided on the linked web page.

Kim Wood@drkimwood· Apr 30

if only I too could hide and relax in a box

a cat comfortably reclines on his side in a cardboard box, his front paws adorably curled in front of him

Kim Wood@drkimwood· Apr 23

Evolution of daily sea surface temperatures (SSTs) during 1-22 April 2026 in the western portion of the eastern North Pacific. 🥵