ONE OF THE BIGGEST SHOTS AND CRAZIEST MOMENTS IN CBB HISTORY

Heard someone on the Quad say “2005, that was the year we were born!” And I’ve never felt older

The scene in Legends as the #Illini advance to their first Final Four since 2005

A large crowd gathered on the Univ. of Illinois campus following the men’s basketball win over Iowa to advance to the final four

FINAL FOUR

Pinch me, I’m dreaming #Illini

Map of U.S., from coolwx.com, showing locations currently experiencing record-breaking temperatures. There are countless such locations in the Western U.S., with hundreds of red dots (locations breaking daily record highs) and countless pink dots (locations breaking March monthly record highs). The region of record heat extends from the Pacific Coast to east the Mississippi River, and from Canada to Mexico. The region of red and pink dots is vastly larger even than yesterday's (or the day before, or the day before, or the day before, same as it ever was, same...as it ever was...).

Incredibly, even *more* locations across U.S. are today experiencing their warmest March temperatures on record--many by a wide margin, with some even breaking April records. This includes most or all of: AZ, UT, CO, NM, WY, NE, KS, MO, IA, plus portions of many other states. 🫠

WTI crude oil > $100

JACK HUGHES 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸
rode the rollercoaster to end regulation, gets the golden goal

Sixth or seventh time in three games there’s been a ‘coincidental’ trip or kick involving Fears.

Come on man 🚮

Alt text: "Illinois basketball player (David Mirkovic) in navy uniform with looking at camera, with overlaid graphic showing 'Most Wins vs Top 10 Since 2019': Kansas 17, Baylor 15, Illinois 14 (highlighted in gold), Alabama 14, Florida 14, Tennessee 14."

Most Wins vs Top-10 Opponents Since 2019

–– Kansas 17
–– Illinois 15 (just beat #5 Nebraska)
–– Baylor 15
–– Alabama 14
–– Florida 14
–– Tennessee 14

The latest on the major winter storm and extreme cold expected later this week.

On-site providing NWS weather support for the Illinois-Northwestern football game during a winter storm #ILwx

Red and green aurora over the NWS Lincoln office building

Red and green aurora over an open field

Red and green aurora over an open field

Red and green aurora over an open field

A couple more photos from last night…two from the peak intensity (just before 11pm), then from 2:30am and 4:30am when it was only faintly visible without a camera #ILwx #aurora

Red and green aurora on display over an open field

Red and green aurora on display over the NWS Lincoln office building

Red and green aurora on display over an open field with the KILX radar in the lower right of the image

Reg and green aurora on display over an open field

Thought I had missed the best of the northern lights earlier this evening (was sleeping before a midnight shift), but ended up seeing this epic display at the office just before 11 PM CT. The photo with the radar is looking southeast. Awesome stuff! #ILwx

📍 Lincoln, IL

A horizon shot with northern lights/aurora lighting up the night sky in green and pink. The colors are reflecting off calm water below.

A horizon shot with northern lights/aurora lighting up the night sky in green and pink. The colors are reflecting off calm water below.

A horizon shot with northern lights/aurora lighting up the night sky in green and pink. The colors are reflecting off calm water below.

Our view of last night’s northern lights display over Lake Michigan 🤩 42°N at ~1:10 AM ET

Photos are 10s exposure off the iPhone, but colors were visible to the naked eye. #MIwx

Today was one of the more memorable multi-hazard events I’ve worked at ILX. Convective watches/warnings, elevated fire danger, blowing dust advisories and dust storm warnings, wind advisories and a high wind warning. Was in awe watching this dust plume race off towards Chicago

Two people at the finish line of a marathon holding a survivor-themed sign

A tree canopy viewed from the middle of a roadway

A view of the Illinois River from the middle of a roadway with trees in the foreground and distance

An elevation plot from the Garmin app showing drastic elevation changes

Survived the hills at the Starved Rock Half Marathon (my first) and had the best sign thanks to @storm-spotter-k.bsky.social

1:52:17 / 8:34 pace

A militarized conspiracy theorist group believes radars are ‘weather weapons’ and is trying to destroy them | CNN National Weather Service offices around the country are on guard after recent threats to agency infrastructure — specifically Doppler weather radars — from a violent militia-style group, emails from t...

NOAA is warning of a group that views Doppler Radars as "weather weapons" and poses a potential threat to US weather infrastructure & personnel. www.cnn.com/2025/05/05/w...

Officially a PhD candidate starting today 🙌 a major thank you to my advisor Dan Dawson and my committee for their support and feedback throughout this process ⛈️🌪

A back lit sign that reads “Let’s Go Blues”

As they say in hockey, “let’s do that hockey”

If there's any time to be highlighting the research made possible under NOAA and its partnerships, it's right now. And that work is no joke.

inside.nssl.noaa.gov/nsslnews/202...

Screenshot of a scorecard in Wii golf

Got a hole in one in Wii golf this morning, happy Masters weekend

Live updates: Dow drops 1,200 and global markets tumble as worries deepen about Trump's trade war Global stock markets extended a severe plunge Monday, fueled by fears that U.S. tariffs would lead to a global economic slowdown. U.S. futures including the S&P, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq all signaled further weakness ahead.

BREAKING: Dow drops 1,200 points and global markets tumble as worries deepen about the economic impact of President Trump's trade war.

2nd week in a row logging 10 miles for my long run. Couldn’t have asked for better weather for this one (50° and light winds) 😎

Sharing a WPC graphic regarding the incredibly concerning flood threat later this week.

ANOTHER UPSET.

Drake is heading to the second-round of the men’s NCAA Tournament.

A green door covered in spots of dust

A dark car hood covered in dusty streak of rain

A dark blue car covered in dusty streaks of rain

Everything is a dirty mess in Bloomington, IL after a light shower occurred at the same time a thick dust plume aloft was positioned overhead. #ILwx

Wound up going:
66/68 on teams in the field
47 correctly seeded
19 within one line
2 off by 2+ lines (if you include WVU).

Definitely my strongest projection of the last few years.

A spreadsheet with college team names and logos in the format of a March madness bracket

Here’s my annual #SelectionSunday projection. I feel like it’s been harder in recent years to gauge what the committee will do as the predictive metrics are utilized more for seeding. I’d be stunned if any team below Texas got in, and really think it’s just Xavier or Boise for the last spot.

Would love to hear how they handled resumes where the predictive and resume metrics told vastly different stories. Gonzaga, Memphis come to mind (and to a lesser extent, teams like KU and Oregon).