CW3E Welcomes Paul Iñiguez

August 2, 2023

Paul Iñiguez joined CW3E as a Forecast Verification Analyst on August 1, 2023. Paul brings a wealth of operational forecasting experience to the center, gained through over 20 years with the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS). Paul is a native Minnesotan and earned his BS in Meteorology from St. Cloud State University. The early years of his NWS career took Paul to Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) in Little Rock, AR and Phoenix, AZ, where he also earned an MA in Geography from Arizona State University (thesis: urban/anthropogenic effects on precipitation patterns across the Phoenix metropolitan area). Paul joined WFO Hanford, CA as the Science & Operations Officer (SOO) in 2012, which provided him with extensive experience with California’s unique climates (including the extreme drought of the early/mid 2010s). While there he managed the office’s science integration and training programs and led the operational forecast unit. In 2015, Paul returned to WFO Phoenix as the SOO, also leading that office’s science integration and training programs and being deeply involved in the day-to-day forecast operations. This included extreme precipitation events both from intense short duration rainfall from monsoonal thunderstorms and occasional deep, energetic winter storms with atmospheric rivers. Paul also spearheaded the office’s extensive extreme heat program and was an integral member of the team behind the development of the NWS HeatRisk prototype. Now at CW3E, Paul looks forward to leveraging his years of forecasting, coding, and leadership experience to contribute to the center’s forecast and verification efforts.