I don't spend a lot of time engaging directly via this platform--though, as an "overly online" weather and climate scientist, you can easily find me on Twitter/X (https://twitter.com/Weather_West, Bluesky (@weatherwest.bsky.social), Threads (https://www.threads.net/@weather.west), Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/@weatherwest), the Weather West blog (https://www.weatherwest.com), and YouTube (
https://www.youtube.com/@weatherwest).
But I did want to extend a special thanks to those who have supported me personally and the Weather West weather/climate science communication endeavor more broadly. Institutional support for professional scientists deeply and sustainedly engaging the public remains low to non-existent, and the personal costs of that engagement have risen sharply over time. Even for a "bare bones" operation like Weather West, which I've led in some form for over 15 years (!), the annual running cost has now risen into the five figures (between web hosting, numerous software subscriptions, physical hardware, and in-person travel to meet. I've long allowed a minimal ad presence on the Weather West blog to help defray costs, and also more recently accepted a (carefully vetted!) partial sponsorship of the Weather West YouTube channel--but as display advertising revenues have plummeted in recent years, those sources only help cover a fraction of the total. Your direct support, via this platform and other similar ones, are what have really made the difference over the past 2-3 years and allowed me to continue to expand these efforts.
So thank you, once again, for your ongoing and future support! I truly do appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Daniel
P.S. If you do want to reach out to me directly, I'm far more likely to see your message if you email me via the weatherwest.com contact form or via my university email address than on this platform! :)