Dr Ned Williams

@nedcwilliams.bsky.social

Scientist at UK Met Office, interested in climate variability, prediction and predictability. Previously at the University of Exeter and MPI-M. When not working, hopefully outdoors. He/him

Pleased to say that I've published my research from my previous role at MPI: We used a large ensemble decadal prediction system and found evidence of atmospheric circulation skill relating to Atlantic Multidecadal Variability, although model deficiencies that limit skill persist:

Predictability of European summer climate: the influence of competing mechanisms related to Atlantic Multidecadal Variability

Abstract. Skilful predictions of European summer climate are increasingly relevant due to an increasing probability of temperature extremes, but prediction skill beyond the forced trend has so far pro...

esd.copernicus.org

It doesn't help that most undergraduate physics courses in the UK treat classical physics as an aside. By my third year the entirety of mandatory lecture/exam modules were quantum/particle/cosmology focused and I first learnt fluid dynamics from an optional module in the maths department.

Helen Czerski@helenczerski.bsky.social · 11mo ago

And far too often we still think physics is just quantum mechanics and cosmology - far away mysterious things that don't relate to our everyday life. That's nonsense. Why it is tiring to walk slowly, what limits the height of a tree, why do baby ducks swim in a tight line? Physics will tell you!

It was great to give an overview of my research so far at the RMetS Early Career conference earlier today! And great to hear about the variety of other research from early career scientists in the field.

Jen@jenstoutwx.bsky.social · last yr.

Congratulations to @nedcwilliams.bsky.social for his excellent Malcolm Walker Award winning lecture at the #RMetSearlycareers conference final talk! We had a queue outside the door to see him, and the overflow delegates were watching live from another theatre. #RMetS @rmets.org @metoffice.gov.uk

Ned Williams presents in front of a lecture theatre audience. The slide title reads "Role of the ocean for long range prediction of atmospheric circulation" alongside a picture of global weather and the Met Office logo.

💧Latest Hydrological Summary shows: -Below-average March rainfall in all areas of UK after dry winter -Many rivers in N & W have exceptionally low flows -Record low March groundwater levels in N Ireland, Scotland, Wales 🔎https://nrfa.ceh.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2025-04/HS_202503.pdf

Maps illustrating the Hydrological Summary for March 2025.

"Why are you so bent out of shape, polar vortex?" Beautiful view via earth.nullschool.net (using NOAA's free GFS model data) of the current stratospheric warming event – likely to be the final stratospheric warming (FSW) – featuring one of the largest stratospheric wave-1 disturbances on record.

A view of the Northern Hemisphere winds at 10 hPa, with the cyclonic polar vortex shrunken and displaced to over Fennoscandia, and a large anticyclone dominating most of the Arctic

Excited to say that I'll be starting a Scientist role in the Monthly-to-Decadal team at the Met Office in March! I will miss Hamburg and it's been a great experience to live and work in Germany, but I'm also looking forward to being back in Exeter/Devon.

Long exposure picture of Met Office HQ, Exeter at night/twilight. Road in foreground, greenery and path towards glass-plate building behind.

I worry that the concept of geoengineering is increasingly going to enter public discussion, not through climate scientists who want to make the nuances and ethics clear, but through the large audience tech sector who want to be seen as having solutions.

LinkedIn post from Andrew Ng: 

"Just released: New AI Climate Simulator that you can play with. Visualize how geoengineering can slow global warming.

There is no longer any path to limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (Paris Agreement), unless we use geoengineering. Reflecting 1% of sunlight away from earth would lead to an extra ~1 degree of cooling.

Our simulator lets you explore how geoengineering via Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) gives us new paths to keep warming to 1.5 degrees. I think SAI is a promising technology worth serious exploration. Check out the simulator here: planetparasol.ai"

At some point the NWP world has to address that 'we run a statistical model based on what happened in the past to estimate the future' became the futuristic tech-y solution instead of 'we use the world's most powerful computers to represent the earth based on physics and then run it forward in time'

Dartmoor visitor centre to close as National Park Authority cannot afford to renew lease from Duchy National Parks are facing 12% budget cuts - not a great way for Labour to celebrate the 75th anniversary of their creation & why is Duchy charging at all? www.tavistock-today.co.uk/news/nationa...

Princetown national park visitor centre to close

THE POPULAR Dartmoor National Park visitor centre in Princetown is due to close after a funding injection ends in March causing concern the economy of the village will be affected.

tavistock-today.co.uk

A little over a week to enter nominations for the 2024 Royal Meteorological Society Awards. A wide range of awards which recognise (among others) early-career scientists, educators, communicators and world-leading scientists in meteorology and climate science. www.rmets.org/nominations-...

Royal Meteorological Society

The Royal Meteorological Society is the Learned and Professional Society for weather and climate. Our mission is to promote the understanding and application of meteorology for the benefit of all.

rmets.org

Pleased to have played a role in this work: the 1 year-lagged impact of ENSO in the extratropics far exceeds the expected effect due to ENSO autocorrelation, and we propose large-scale atmospheric angular momentum anomalies propagating polewards as a mechanism. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

ENSO affects the North Atlantic Oscillation 1 year later

We demonstrate a 1-year lagged extratropical response to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in observational analyses and climate models. The response maps onto the Arctic Oscillation and is stro...

science.org

It was nice to be at the Met Office (and University of Exeter) last week, with lots of useful discussions on climate prediction research. Featuring some grey sky for bluesky, to prove once and for all that the Met Office aren't choosing their weather.

Looking towards Met Office HQ, a glass plated building with a pond and associated greenery in the foreground. Grey sky