Russ Schumacher

Russ Schumacher is a Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University (CSU) and serves as Colorado State Climatologist and director of the Colorado Climate Center. He holds a B.S. in Meteorology and Humanities from Valparaiso University (2001), and M.S. (2003) and Ph.D. (2008) in Atmospheric Science from CSU. His career includes a postdoctoral fellowship at NCAR (2008–09), an Assistant Professorship at Texas A&M University (2009–11), and promotion to Professor at CSU in July 2022. He currently edits the Monthly Weather Review and leads research on mesoscale meteorology, precipitation extremes, and societal impacts of weather.

Research focuses on mesoscale convective systems, flash floods, and climate change in Colorado. His work is funded by NSF, NASA, NOAA, and COMET. Awards include the NSF CAREER Award (2010), AMS Clarence Leroy Meisinger Award (2020), and the 2012 Outstanding Professor of the Year. He advises numerous students, including Ph.D. recipients Allie Mazurek (2024), Eric James (2023), and Casey Zoellick (2025), and leads the Precipitation Systems Research Group. His team develops tools like the CSU-Machine Learning Probabilities (MLP) forecasting system, highlighted for operational weather prediction advancements.

As State Climatologist, Schumacher oversees climate data for Colorado, including record-keeping and public outreach. His lab collaborations span international field campaigns (e.g., RELAMPAGO in Argentina) and interdisciplinary projects on wildfire meteorology (WE-CAN). Teaching interests include mesoscale meteorology, severe weather, and numerical forecasting.