
Daniel Swain, PhD
Climate Scientist
Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
LaKretz Hall, Suite 300
619 Charles E Young Dr. E
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Bio
Research Focus
As a climate scientist, I study the physics, dynamics, and impacts of the Earth’s changing climate system. I’m especially interested in how global warming is affecting the character and causes of regional climate extremes—including the atmospheric phenomena responsible for droughts, floods, and wildfires. My research embraces “climate complexity” by accounting for the nuanced spatial and temporal characteristics of our planet’s response to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. I also work to understand linkages between different elements of the broader Earth system, and how changing conditions in the tropics and polar regions may be affecting climate in geographically distant regions.

My recent work seeks to understand the changing spatiotemporal character of precipitation, including the rising risk of regional “megafloods” in a warming climate. In addition, my colleagues and I have recently embarked on multiple research projects focused on understanding the climate-related factors driving the recent surge in wildfire activity in California. A collective aim of both these research tracks is to develop empirically-supported approaches to natural hazard mitigation that benefit both society and the environment in an era of increasing climate whiplash.
I currently hold joint appointments as a climate scientist within UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, a research fellow in the Capacity Center for Climate and Weather Extremes at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and as the California Climate Fellow at The Nature Conservancy.
Science Communication and Outreach
I author the Weather West blog, which provides real-time perspectives on California and western North American weather, climate, and regional change. I also engage extensively with journalists and other partners to facilitate accessible, scientifically-informed media coverage surrounding climate change. In addition to serving as a climate and weather science liaison to print, radio, television, and web media outlets, I also review existing news articles for scientific accuracy as part of the Climate Feedback team. You can find me on Twitter @Weather_West.
Full curriculum vitae available here.
Publications
Increasing importance of temperature as a contributor to the spatial extent of streamflow drought
M.I. Brunner, D.L. Swain, E. Gilleland, and A. Wood
Published Work | 2020 | Environmental Research Letters
Moisture‐ Versus Wind‐Dominated Flavors of Atmospheric Rivers
K.R. Gonzales, D.L. Swain, E.A. Barnes, and N.S. Diffenbaugh
Published Work | 2020 | Geophysical Research Letters
Increased flood exposure due to climate change and population growth in the United States
D.L. Swain, O.E.J. Wing, P.D. Bates, J.M. Done, K. Johnson, and D.R. Cameron.
Published Work | 2020 | Earth's Future
Inter-model agreement on projected shifts in California hydroclimate characteristics critical to water management
G.G. Persad, D.L. Swain, C. Kouba, and J.P.O. Partida
Published Work | 2020 | Climatic Change
Future precipitation increase from very high resolution ensemble downscaling of extreme atmospheric river storms in California
X. Huang, D.L. Swain, and A.D. Hall
Published Work | 2020 | Science Advances
Population exposure to pre-emptive de-energization aimed at averting wildfires in Northern California
J.T. Abatzoglou, C.M. Smith, D.L. Swain, T. Ptak, and C.A. Kolden
Published Work | 2020 | Environmental Research Letters
Attributing Extreme Events to Climate Change: A New Frontier in a Warming World
D.L. Swain, D. Singh, D. Touma, N.S. Diffenbaugh
Published Work | 2020 | One Earth
Spatial Dependence of Floods Shaped by Spatiotemporal Variations in Meteorological and Land‐Surface Processes
M.I. Brunner, E. Gilleland, A. Wood, D.L. Swain, and M. Clark
Published Work | 2020 | Geophysical Research Letters
Climate change is increasing the risk of extreme autumn wildfire conditions across California
M. Goss, D.L. Swain, J.T. Abatzoglou, A. Sarhadi, C. Kolden, A.P. Williams, and N.S. Diffenbaugh
Published Work | 2020 | Environmental Research Letters
Ridging associated with drought in western and southwestern United States: characteristics, trends and predictability
Gibson, P.B., Waliser, D.E., Guan, B., DeFlorio, M.J., and D.L. Swain
Published Work | 2020 | Journal of Climate
Simulating and Evaluating Atmospheric River-Induced Precipitation Extremes along the U.S. Pacific Coast: Case Studies from 1980-2017
X. Huang, D.L. Swain, D.B. Walton, S. Stephenson, A. Hall
Published Work | 2020 | Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Recent warming of landfalling atmospheric rivers along the West Coast of the United States
Gonzales, K.R., Swain, D.L., Barnes, E.A., K. Nardi, and N.S. Diffenbaugh
Published Work | 2019 | Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
On the Connection Between Global Hydrologic Sensitivity and Regional Wet Extremes
C.W. Thackeray, A.M. DeAngelis, A. Hall, D.L. Swain, X. Qu
Published Work | 2018 | Geophysical Research Letters
Characterizing the spatial scales of extreme daily precipitation in the United States
D. Touma, A.M. Michalak, D.L. Swain, N.S. Diffenbaugh
Published Work | 2018 | Journal of Climate
Increasing precipitation volatility in twenty-first-century California
D.L. Swain, B. Langenbrunner, J.D. Neelin, and A. Hall
Published Work | 2018 | Nature Climate Change
Remote linkages to anomalous winter atmospheric ridging over the northeastern Pacific
D.L. Swain, D. Singh, D.E. Horton, J.S. Mankin, T.C. Ballard, N.S. Diffenbaugh
Published Work | 2017 | Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Quantifying the influence of global warming on unprecedented extreme climate events
N. S. Diffenbaugh, D. Singh, J. S. Mankin, A. Charland, D. E. Horton, M. Haugen, D .L. Swain, B. Rajaratnam, D. Touma
Published Work | 2017 | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Recent Amplification of the North American Winter Temperature Dipole
D. Singh, D. L. Swain, J. S. Mankin, D. E. Horton, L. N. Thomas, B. Rajaratnam, N. S. Diffenbaugh
Published Work | 2016 | Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Trends in Atmospheric Patterns Conducive to Seasonal Precipitation and Temperature Extremes in California
D. L. Swain, D.E. Horton, D. Singh, N. S. Diffenbaugh
Published Work | 2016 | Science Advances
Evaluation of Non-hydrostatic Simulations of Northeast Pacific Atmospheric Rivers and Comparison to In-situ Observations
D.L. Swain, B. Lebassi-Habtezion, N.S. Diffenbaugh
Published Work | 2015 | Monthly Weather Review
Anthropogenic Warming has Increased Drought Risk in California
N.S. Diffenbaugh, D.L. Swain, D. Touma
Published Work | 2015 | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Contribution of Changes in Atmospheric Circulation Patterns to Extreme Temperature Trends
D.E. Horton, N.C. Johnson, D. Singh, D.L. Swain, B. Rajaratnam, N.S. Diffenbaugh
Published Work | 2015 | Nature
A tale of two California Droughts: Lessons Amidst Record Warmth and Dryness in a Region of Complex Physical and Human Geography
D. L. Swain
Published Work | 2015 | Geophysical Research Letters
The Extraordinary California Drought of 2013-2014: Character, Context, and the Role of Climate Change
D.L. Swain, M. Tsiang, M. Haugen, D. Singh, A. Charland, B. Rajaratnam, N.S. Diffenbaugh
Published Work | 2014 | Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society