Founder @project_otus. Grad student researching tornadoes at Texas Tech. Writer at @tornado_talk. B.S. Meteorology 2026. NIST Guest Researcher. Storm Chaser.
VA
Joined November 2017
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The time-lapses of my 2025 storm chases with the OTUS Project! An art that is very difficult with our drone tornado intercepts, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. Some of these clips are pretty insane, I hope you enjoy! Link below!
Nelson Tucker retweeted
🧵 of my opinions on AI in meteorology.
There are many, many ways this could be good for operations. I worry it might not be as good for science. I think of it as detection vs. diagnosis. AI can be trained to detect anything, but only we as scientists can make the diagnosis.
Nelson Tucker retweeted
AI models have been brought down to earth—just when everyone was getting worshippy about them. For days, physical models insisted #Typhoon #CHAMPI would hit Taiwan while Google DeepMind insisted it would cleanly miss. CHAMPI is now clobbering Taiwan. Ouchies for Google DeepMind.
We have a winner - the numerical physics models beat the AI models with Typhoon Champi as the storm indeed is about to make landfall in Taiwan. An unexpected outcome.
Interestingly, numerical modeling appears to have been a bit closer on the mark for Champi regarding Taiwan than the DeepMind AI. The final track will likely be a split between the two with neither clearly correct, but Deepmind was more confidently and spatially off.
As others have pointed out (like @EarthUncutTV), there've been several recent battles between "traditional" physical models & AI models—& AI models have been mostly winning. Here's a new one: Euro ENS & HRES (orange/yellow) plow Super #Typhoon #CHAMPI into Taiwan; Google DeepMind (blue) recurves it into Japan. This is strong bifurcation: there'll be a winner & a loser.
Nelson Tucker retweeted
I am sick and tired of people in traditional "broadcast meteorology" posting smiling selfies during the approach of Isaias. Their theory is... "It's all about ME!!"
These nitwits need to spend this week in places like Lenox, Peterman, and Canoe Alabama cutting trees off homes and feeding people.
If you want to be a social media influencer or a model, fine. But stay out of weather. Please.
Nelson Tucker retweeted
Video incredibile di Rosalba Pipitone, sempre da Marsala. Questo potrebbe essere il tornado siciliano più intenso da diversi decenni, ci sono auto scaraventate in giro. Seguiranno aggiornamenti
Nelson Tucker retweeted
New unreleased footage of the Union City, Michigan EF3 tornado back on March 6, 2026, capturing the moments before the tornado hits.
📸: Unknown, taken from Discovery Channel doc
(if anyone can help me find the og person of this footage, I will be greatly appreciated)
If you like your atmosphere warm and dry, the eye of Hurricane Polo is a better (temporary) location for you than very literally anywhere in North America.
Nelson Tucker retweeted
From the 5 am NHC discussion for #Polo:
"The intensification rate over the past 24 hours
is truly remarkable, with Polo strengthening by about 90 kt over that time period."
From yesterday's 11 am discussion:
"Every model responds to these conditions by
showing rapid intensification, and the SHIPS rapid intensification index is showing percentages as high as I have ever seen them. The new forecast is raised from the previous one and is very aggressive, but still below the latest HCCA corrected-consensus aid, which verbatim would be at least a 99th percentile event for intensification."
Very well-anticipated RI event. Kudos to NHC.
This has been one of the things I've been most excited to see during my career so far: we're getting better in our ability to predict RI. Not perfect, but with tools like SHIPS-RI, HAFS, Google DeepMind, and forecaster awareness, we can get it right a lot more than we did 10-15 years ago.
Definitely curious what our flight into #Polo will hold today. Looks like it could be my second Cat5 flight (first being Melissa last year).
Hard to pick a favorite wedge tornado, so here’s a few:
Custer City OK 5/19/2024
Greensburg KS 5/18/2025
Morton TX 6/5/2025
Charleston IL 6/17/2026
Nelson Tucker retweeted
🌪️ TORNADO #2 TODAY IN UTAH!
Another tornado has been reported south of Vernal, near South Ouray, according to a viewer who captured this incredible video.
😳 TWO tornadoes in Utah today. What a wild day across the state! #utwx
📍 Ouray / south of Vernal, Utah
🌪️ Video: Ashlee Parrish
Nelson Tucker retweeted
🌪️ NEW VIDEO: TORNADO TOUCHES DOWN IN UTAH
This tornado touched down in the foothills of Davis County Friday afternoon and then moved up into the mountains as the supercell thunderstorm pushed northeast.
We saw very tight rotation on radar as the storm moved through, and this video now confirms the tornado touchdown.
Thankfully, it moved into the mountains and away from populated areas. We got extremely lucky. 🙏🌪️
📍 Fruit Heights, UT
🎥 Nanette Ward
Seeing the entire Pilger tornado event live on TWC had a major impact on 11 year old me. I found a video of the TV I took with my mom’s iPad 😂 I became crippled by a disease much of that year so I had a lot of time to obsess over radar, tornadoes, and watch so much TWC.
Nelson Tucker retweeted
Remember chasers, regular people who live in the risk area see your tweets regarding forecasting weather events. You can stoke real fear in them when you overhype. Be cautious with the words you choose.
Nelson Tucker retweeted
I’d agree on a lot of chases with this and would chase more for structure often if not for my mission. Having said that, I would always choose being close to Arnett without question… one of the most amazing experiences of my life
