Daily Notes: October 2, 2026

Today my computer learned it has more brains than I ever gave it credit for. Somewhere in there is a little chip built just for AI, and until this morning LightningWX ignored it the same way I ignore the “low ink” light on the printer. That changed.

What Changed Today

LightningWX 1.5.11 is out, and it brings AI Acceleration to every edition. GenAvaM, our forecast model, can now run on your PC’s NPU or graphics card when that is faster, and it drops back to the CPU on its own when it is not. Here is the Geek part I love: before LightningWX trusts a device, it runs the same forecast on the CPU and checks that the faster chip gets the same answer. If it doesn’t match, it doesn’t get used. Speed is nice; a fast wrong forecast is just a wrong forecast sooner. You’ll find it in Settings, AI Acceleration.

Don’t be like me and assume the newest, shiniest chip is always the fastest one for the job. You open Settings, AI Acceleration and let LightningWX test it for you. It measures instead of guessing, which is more than I can say for me before coffee.

LaunchWX arrived today too (1.5.10), and 1.5.11 polishes it. LaunchWX is Go/No-Go launch weather for Cape Canaveral, Kennedy, Vandenberg, Starbase and Wallops, with our own GO% computed from raw weather data starting three days out, a live launch schedule, a comparison panel and Accuracy History. The update gives it a cleaner schedule table, puts the GO% gauge above the schedule, makes the window taller, and only scores launches in Accuracy History when there was a full prediction series to judge. LaunchWX is part of the Subscription and is an independent estimate, not the official Space Force forecast.

Also new: a Help, About LightningWX window, so you can see exactly which version you are running without hunting for it.

And the website has a Blog page now at lightningwx.com/blog/, so these notes have a proper home instead of wandering around like a lost cumulus.

Latest Weather News

• Tropics: The National Hurricane Center’s 8 AM EDT outlook today is tracking a trough of low pressure from the remnants of former Tropical Storm Fay, several hundred miles south-southeast of Bermuda. Strong upper-level winds and dry air are expected to keep it from developing, with a 10 percent chance of formation over both 48 hours and 7 days. (NHC Tropical Weather Outlook)
• Severe weather: The Storm Prediction Center’s Day 1 outlook for today shows no severe thunderstorm risk areas. A few strong wind gusts are possible this afternoon from northern Virginia into southern New England, but SPC says overall severe potential looks limited. (SPC Day 1 Convective Outlook)

A quiet day for storms is a good day to check your weather radio batteries. For anything active where you live, follow your local NWS office and emergency officials.

Daily Joke

Why did the barometer refuse to go to therapy? It said it was perfectly fine, it was just under a lot of pressure lately, and honestly that was the atmosphere’s fault.

Don’t be like me, the human lightning rod, out in the yard waiting for one more bolt. When thunder roars, you go indoors and watch the strikes on LightningWX instead.

Jen