Arizona’s new state climatologist eschews personal politics in favor of dispassionate dispatches.
She may play a key support role in the future of our state, but Arizona State University senior lecturer Erinanne Saffell identifies as a teacher, not as a politician. As Arizona’s newly appointed state climatologist, she is tasked with offering a non-biased flow of information to an often-divided public for all to hear and consider. There is no policy advice on what to do about the thorny issues of the day like global warming and carbon emissions. No opinions on what steps to take.
“I see my role as being that of an educator,” Saffell says. “I try to make sure that folks understand what’s going on with our weather and climate and provide context with what has happened before.”
Those job duties were established by the Arizona Board of Regents when the position was created in 1973. Appointed by Governor Doug Ducey in 2021, Saffell is the sixth state climatologist in its history and the only one who was born and raised in Arizona. Her work is done through governmental and other committees, and presentations to various groups, including schoolkids.
Topping her list of priorities is helping people understand the drought gripping the state and threatening its future, outlining where the water comes from and the mixed effects that recent rain and snow have had on the state’s water supply. Arizona’s scorching temperatures also rank high on her list of go-to topics.
Saffell says the rise in average temperatures is real, with the state experiencing a 2-degree Fahrenheit increase in the last 100 years. That translates to 7 degrees in Phoenix, with all its pavement and warmth-trapping urban heat islands.
But she says not to sweat it – at least for now. The 122-degree Fahrenheit temperatures hit in June 1990 can happen again, but still more? “Is it going to be 130 degrees? In the next 30 years, likely not.” But, she says, the situation certainly is a concern for future generations.
A true Arizonan, Saffell relishes another type of weather. Rainy days don’t get her down – they evoke warm, sweet feelings from the past.
“Rainy days were the only days my mom would turn on the oven to make cookies, so I associate rainy days with cookies as a consequence,” she says. “So, when it rains, it must be time to make cookies.”
