Research Interests
Seasonal-to-subseasonal forecasting of atmospheric rivers.
Hydrometeorological effects of landfalling atmospheric rivers over the western United States.
The evolution of extreme weather events in response to anthropogenic (human induced) forcing.
Breanna Zavadoff, Ph.D.
Assistant Scientist (University of Miami/CIMAS), Physical Oceanography Division
4301 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami, Florida 33149
“For communities scattered across the western United States, landfalling atmospheric rivers serve as a metaphorical double-edged sword of benefits and detriments. Though atmospheric rivers provide a great service by acting as a vital resource for water replenishment and as drought regulators, the extreme precipitation they cause can act as a catalyst for flooding that leaves devastating impacts on both the physical and socio-economic landscape of the region. The effects of both sides of the atmospheric river coin underscore the growing need for both water resource and emergency managers alike to have accurate advance warning of landfalling atmospheric rivers to ensure proper preparatory measures can be taken.”
Dr. Breanna Zavadoff is an Assistant Scientist at the Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) at the University of Miami. Alongside researchers within the Physical Oceanography Division at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), Dr. Zavadoff’s work involves evaluating subseasonal-to-seasonal forecasts of high-impact weather events in the variable-resolution Unified Forecast System (UFS) with a primary focus on the nexus between atmospheric rivers and extreme precipitation.
Current Work
Evaluating subseasonal predictions of high-impact weather in the variable-resolution Unified Forecast System (UFS)
2016, BS, Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
2020, PhD, Meteorology and Physical Oceanography, University of Miami, Miami, FL
Zavadoff, B. L. and B. P. Kirtman, 2025: Characterization of western US hydrologic processes linked to atmospheric rivers in two sets of seasonal global retrospective forecasts. Clim. Dyn.,63(6), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-025-07740-6
Zavadoff, B. L., K. Gao, H. Lopez, S.-K. Lee, D. Kim, and L. M. Harris, 2023: Improved MJO forecasts using the experimental global-nested GFDL SHiELD model. Geophys. Res. Lett., e2022GL101622. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL101622
Zavadoff, B. L. and B. P. Kirtman, 2021: The Pacific decadal oscillation as a modulator of summertime North Atlantic Rossby wave breaking. Clim. Dyn., 56, 207-225. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-020-05475-0