New Arizona State Climatologist Begins With Focus On Drought

By Vaughan Jones
Published: Saturday, August 28, 2021 - 3:35pm
Updated: Sunday, August 29, 2021 - 8:42am

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Erinanne Saffell
Arizona State University
Erinanne Saffell

Earlier this month, Gov. Doug Ducey appointed Erinanne Saffell, who has a doctorate in geography, as the new State Climatologist to replace the retiring Nancy Selover.

Saffell has many ties to Arizona. She was born and raised in Phoenix, and she received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Arizona State University.

She is currently the head of Mesa Community College’s geography program and a senior lecturer at ASU. The State Climate Office is a unit of ASU’s School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning.

She is also the co-chair of the Arizona Drought Monitoring Technical Committee.

Saffell is the sixth state climatologist for Arizona. She told ASU News that one of her first priorities will be addressing the ongoing drought.

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