Cliff Floyd

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Lore & Background

Cliff Mass received a B.S. in physics from Cornell University in 1974. As an undergraduate, Mass performed research on Martian weather with astrophysicist Carl Sagan, and on the role of sun spots and volcanic eruptions on historical climate conditions with climatologist Stephen Schneider. He received his PhD in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington in 1978 with a dissertation on the role of African wave disturbances and climate variation in the Sahel region. Before joining the faculty of the University of Washington, Mass was a professor of meteorology at the University of Maryland from 1978 to 1981. He leads the University of Washington Mesoscale Analysis and Forecasting Group and is the chief scientist of the Northwest Modeling Consortium. He has published over 120 articles in peer-reviewed scientific venues, and served on the board of over a dozen regional and national meteorological committees, conferences, and scientific journals.

In Their Own Story

Starting around 2008, KUOW warned Mass to stop voicing his opinions about subjects such as math education on his weather segment on the show *Weekday*. The show's host, Steve Scher, noted that holders of opposing viewpoints complained to the station that they deserved equal time. Scher in 2011 removed Mass's segment from *Weekday*, prompting hundreds of emails to be sent to the station and a protest at the station. Mass later wrote an article defending his actions in *The Stranger*. On his personal blog on August 5, 2020, Mass likened to Kristallnacht the property damage in downtown Seattle, calling photos of the damage "eerily similar to those of 80 years ago." The context for this remark was the mid-July events of the George Floyd protests in Seattle. He subsequently defended the comparison in the comments to that entry. The next day, KNKXX announced that it would stop airing *Weather with Cliff Mass*, effective immediately, citing "offensive and inaccurate" rhetoric in that personal blog post. Mass temporarily removed the words "Kristallnacht" and "Brownshirts" from his post, describing the passage that contained them as "a source of distraction to some," before restoring them.

Reader's Guide

Mass has stated publicly that he shares the scientific consensus that climate change is real and primarily human-caused, but he has also criticized some climate modeling approaches and media coverage as overly alarmist. He is a frequent commentator on Pacific Northwest weather events, often providing detailed, accessible explanations of phenomena like atmospheric rivers and Puget Sound convergence zones. Mass has been an advocate for improving weather radar coverage in the region, including the Langley Hill Doppler radar on the Washington coast. He maintains a popular blog and active social media presence, where he engages directly with weather enthusiasts and the public.

Did You Know?

• Mass performed research on Martian weather with astrophysicist Carl Sagan as an undergraduate at Cornell University.
• Mass received his PhD in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington in 1978 with a dissertation on African wave disturbances and climate variation in the Sahel region.
• Mass advocated for the acquisition and installation of the Langley Hill Doppler weather radar in 2011, the first on the Washington coast.
• Mass, who is Jewish, has stated the value of tikkun olam has informed his approach to science.
• Mass's book The Weather of the Pacific Northwest is one of the best-selling titles from the University of Washington Press.