State Climatologist Russ Schumacher is the director of the Colorado Climate Center, where he studies storms, weather analysis and forecasting, precipitation extremes, flash floods, and the weather and climate of Colorado.

Schumacher’s research focuses on mesoscale meteorology and convective systems, weather analysis and forecasting, applying machine learning to weather prediction, the climatology of precipitation and the societal impact of weather.

Schumacher received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2010 and received the Clarence Leroy Meisinger early-career research award from the American Meteorological Society in 2021. He also serves as editor of the Monthly Weather Review.

Schumacher earned his B.S. in meteorology and humanities from Valparaiso University in 2001. He then studied atmospheric science at Colorado State, earning his M.S. in 2003 and his Ph.D. in 2008.