BOSTON, MA - November 9, 2022 - Salient Predictions, a Boston-based technology company that creates the world’s most accurate subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) weather information, is pleased to welcome Brian Zimmerman from Prescient Weather and Dr. Jason Furtado from the University of Oklahoma to its team. Both researchers are well known for their temperature and extreme weather forecasting expertise, and will further bolster Salient’s industry-leading S2S weather prediction platform utilized across agriculture, energy, insurance, and food and beverage manufacturing. 

Brian Zimmerman joins Salient as a Climate Scientist following four years working on S2S forecasting methodologies as a Product Development Scientist for Prescient Weather. His previous work included a submission to the 2018 US Bureau of Reclamation’s Sub-Seasonal Climate Forecast Rodeo, where Brian earned the highest score in all temperature categories, and was the only participant to beat some of the temperature benchmarks. Salient’s Dr. Ray Schmitt and his two sons won the precipitation forecasting portion of the same competition, setting the stage for the founding of Salient Predictions.

“Building the world’s most accurate S2S forecasting system requires multiple disciplines coming together as a team,” said Dr. Ray Schmitt, co-founder and President of Salient Predictions. “Having seen Brian’s temperature prediction work first-hand during the Climate Forecast Rodeo, we are thrilled to now welcome him to Team Salient.”

Dr. Jason Furtado, head of the University of Oklahoma’s Applied Climate Dynamics Group, joins Salient as a member of the company's distinguished Science Advisory Board. His research over the past few years has focused on statistical methods for S2S extreme weather forecasting including temperature and precipitation. Dr. Furtado’s research group recently published an in-depth paper focused on the causes of the February 2021 Great Plains cold air outbreak that knocked out much of Texas’ electrical grid, resulted in more than 200 deaths, and raised the importance of forecasting extreme weather events further in advance.

“My group studies large-scale climate dynamics and applies that research to improving S2S forecasts for real world problems,” said Dr. Furtado. “Given the strong alignment to Salient’s mission, I am excited to join as an advisor. I believe the collaboration will yield exciting opportunities for University of Oklahoma meteorology students to apply their expertise in the private sector.”

“Salient’s customers have come to expect industry-leading science, accuracy, reliability, and transparency from our forecasts and analytics. Welcoming Brian and Dr. Furtado to Salient is a further step in that direction,” said Matt Stein, co-founder and CEO of Salient. “And, more broadly, another step toward helping organizations increase their resilience to climate-driven weather volatility.” 

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