There is always a lot happening in the world of weather, water, and climate research. The staff of the AMS Publications Department can attest to that. Their work calendars often look something like this:
It can be hard to stay up to speed on all that published research. That’s a raison d’être for the new AMS Headlines – giving the reader a single spot to catch up on things. However, sometimes we like something new with our favorite meal. You know, just to change things up a bit. Like ketchup on a Chicago hot dog. Or Charlie Brown actually kicking the football. That’s where Weather with a Twist (WWAT) comes in.
WWAT is an e-mail newsletter (via the Substack platform) that covers a recent research topic in the world of weather, water, and climate science. We take a recent research publication and try to describe it in a whimsical manner while still respecting the intelligence of the reader.
Launched at the 2025 AMS Annual Meeting, the newsletter has about 5,600 subscribers and 7,500 total followers. A survey showed that a large number of readers use the newsletter to keep up with interesting articles from AMS journals. The newsletter is completely free, though a monthly “deep dive” is offered to paid subscribers, whose support helps cover honorariums to a panel of scientists who review each issue.
As of this writing, the latest issue describes birdbath radar scans and can be found here. About 75 issues have been published so far, with the entire archive publicly available.
Consider subscribing and helping spread the word. And we’re always on the lookout for new scientific reviewers or guest articles. Contact the AMS Education team if interested in helping out.
WWAT often uses and abuses sketches like these from one of our partners, Jono Hey.
