University of Utah

University of Michigan

Research and Development Meteorologist

I work for the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E), located within the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. My role as an atmospheric scientist at CW3E is to provide strong leadership, sharp analysis, and cutting-edge research that leads to the development of new meteorological knowledge, applications, and forecast products. I work remotely from home in Salt Lake City, UT, with frequent travel to La Jolla, CA.

Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes

Atmospheric Scientist

My primary roles are scientific research and development.

On the research side, I am interested in the predictability of extreme precipitation events over the western U.S. I focus on the physical processes that contribute to these events, and how to identify predictive signals in weather forecast models. These results then go toward improving our ability to forecast and alert the public.

In terms of development, I lead the Western Region road weather project, which provides NWS personnel with access to road weather forecasts at over 500 RWIS locations in the western U.S. We use a road surface model that predicts road surface temperatures and conditions based on a given point forecast, site metadata, and past observations. The output is very useful in differentiating between precipitation that will freeze or melt on the road surface. It is used frequently by our forecasters to enhance existing NWS products. Please find a relevant journal article attached below.

Jonathan Rutz