CW3E Welcomes Jeff Zimmerman

August 5, 2025

Jeff Zimmerman joined CW3E in July 2025 as a Program Manager. Jeff will serve as a liaison to the NWS River Forecast Centers and Office of Water Prediction, working to leverage the NWS hydrologic forecast information to advance FIRO priorities. Jeff comes to CW3E after a 32 year career in the National Weather Service (NWS). A significant portion of this time was spent supporting the implementation and execution of the NWS Hydrologic Services Program. He served as a senior leader in a variety of positions across the NWS, and brings significant experience in areas such as strategic planning, budget planning and execution, project leadership, management and supervision, and mentorship.

Jeff spent 15 years in the NWS Western Region Headquarters in Salt Lake City. During his time in Salt Lake City, he gained an acute appreciation for the challenges related to water availability and water management across the western US. He served as the Chief of the Region’s Integrated Service Division, and was responsible for overseeing the implementation and execution of NWS meteorological and hydrologic services throughout the West. Jeff also served as the Deputy Regional Director for the Western Region. Towards the end of his career, Jeff returned to the Office of Water Prediction, where he led a team of professionals in the design, development and implementation of a set of quality assurance and evaluation activities to verify, validate and evaluate the performance of NWS hydrologic models and services, including the National Water Model, inundation flood mapping and probabilistic forecast services. He also served as the NWS liaison to all Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) activities, including interfacing with NWS River Forecast Centers, US Army Corps of Engineers, CW3E scientists and local water managers regarding NWS hydrologic forecast activities to support FIRO.