Keah Schuenemann

Professor of Meteorology

Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

Bio

Keah Schuenemann, Ph.D., is a Professor of Meteorology in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science at MSU Denver. Her path to atmospheric science began at age 14, when she witnessed an F5 tornado from her front porch in Wisconsin—the same summer the film Twister premiered. She went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. During graduate studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, her focus shifted toward climate change, particularly Arctic climate dynamics and large-scale weather pattern variability. As a teaching assistant, she discovered a passion for education. After finishing her Ph.D. and completing a short postdoctoral position, Dr. Schuenemann joined MSU Denver in 2009, where she now teaches courses in meteorology and climate change. Dr. Schuenemann takes great pride in her meteorology alumni, who are now scattered across the country making meaningful contributions in forecasting, research, education, and beyond.

Degree

PhD in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science

University of Colorado

MS in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science

University of Colorado

BS in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science

University of Wisconsin

Published Works

Corbin, N., Martin, T., Schuenemann, K. (2025). Supervised Machine Learning Readiness: A No- and Low- Code Learning Series. [Manuscript submitted for publication].
Schuenemann, K. (2023). BoulderCAST Daily - Sat 6/17/23 Still cool, less rain. , https://bouldercast.com/daycast-sat-6-17-23-still-cool-less-rain/#more-49858
Schuenemann, K. (2023). BoulderCAST Daily - Sun 6/18/23 80s and dry. Bouldercast, https://bouldercast.com/daycast-sun-6-18-23-80s-and-dry/#more-49864
Schuenemann, K. (2022). DayCAST: Sun 8/28/22 Hot and slight chance of scattered showers. , https://bouldercast.com/daycast-sun-8-28-22-hot-and-slight-chance-of-scattered-showers/#more-45013
Schuenemann, K. (2022). This week in Colorado weather: June 20, 2022. , https://bouldercast.com/this-week-in-colorado-weather-june-20-2022/#more-43965
Schuenemann, K. (2021). DayCAST: Sun 7/25/21 Chance of afternoon thunderstorms. Bouldercast, https://bouldercast.com/daycast-sun-7-25-21-chance-of-afternoon-thunderstorms/#more-38114
Auger, D. J., Mayewski, A. P., Maasch, A. K., Schuenemann, K., Carleton, M. A., Birkel, D. S., Saros, E. J. (2019). 2000  years of North Atlantic-Arctic climate. Quaternary Science Reviews, 2167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.05.020.
Robertson, E., Schuenemann, K. (2019). Evaluating Forecasts for Indian Summer Monsoon Precipitation Using the NESM. The Rowdy Scholar, 1(1). https://msudenver.edu/rowdy-scholar/currentissue/ or https://msudenver.edu/media/content/rowdyjournal/documents/RobersonresubmitEdit.pdf.
Auger, D. J., Birkel, D. S., Maasch, A. K., Mayewski, A. P., Schuenemann, K. (2018). An Ensemble Mean and Evaluation of Third Generation Global Climate Reanalysis Models. Atmosphere, 9(236), 12. https://doi.org/doi:10.3390/atmos9060236.
Schuenemann, K. (2017). BoulderCAST: This week in weather: December 18, 2018. , https://www.bouldercast.com/this-week-in-weather-dec-18-2017/#more-13391
Schuenemann, K. (2017). Wishcasting a White Christmas. The Broadview Denver, https://www.thebroadviewdenver.com/features-news-blog/2017/12/12/wishcasting-a-white-christmas
Auger, D. J., Birkel, D. S., Maasch, A. K., Mayewski, A. P., Schuenemann, C. K. (2017). Examination of Precipitation Variability in Southern Greenland. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 122(12), 6202–6216. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD026377.
Cook, J., Schuenemann, K., Nuccitelli, D., Jacobs, P., Kevin, C., Green, S., Way, R., Richardson, M., Cawley, G., Mandia, S., Skuce, A., Daniel, B. (2015). Denial 101x: Making sense of climate science denial. EdX, edx.org/understanding-climate-denial
Schuenemann, K., . (2015). NextGen's Course Catalog. Science, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.347.6217.22
Schuenemann, K., Wagner, G. R. (2014). Using Student-Generated Blogs to Create a Global Perspective on Climate Change. Journal of Geoscience Education, 62(3), pp. 364-373. https://doi.org/10.5408/13-065.1.
Schuenemann, K., Cassano, J. J. (2010). Changes in synoptic weather patterns and Greenland precipitation in the 20th and 21st centuries: 2. Analysis of 21st century atmospheric changes using self‐organizing maps. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 115(D05108). www.agu.org/journals/jd/.
Schuenemann, K., Cassano, J. J. (2009). Changes in synoptic weather patterns and Greenland precipitation in the 20th and 21st centuries: 1. Evaluation of late 20th century simulations from IPCC models. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 114(D20113 ). www.agu.org/journals/jd/.
Schuenemann, K., Cassano, J. J., Finnis, J. (2009). Synoptic Forcing of Precipitation over Greenland: Climatology for 1961–99. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 10(1), 60-78. journals.ametsoc.org/loi/hydr.

Research Interests

Dr. Schuenemann studied the large scale weather around the Greenland Ice Sheet and the effect of recent climate changes on these weather patterns using Self-Organizing Maps, a machine learning technique. She studied how climate change affects mid-latitude weather patterns. Dr. Schuenemann also undertook endeavors communicating climate change to the public through a massive open online course. She is passionate about promoting science literacy and critical thinking in the sciences and spent four years as the director of General Studies. She has contributed to teaching machine learning to earth scientists.

Teaching Interests

Dr. Schuenemann teaches courses on climate change, climatology, synoptic (large scale) meteorology, and dynamic meteorology. She has taught MTR 1400 Weather and Climate, MTR 1600 Global Climate Change, MTR 2020 Weather and Climate Lab for Scientists, MTR 3000 Weather Discussion, MTR/GEG 3330 Climatology with lab, MTR/ENV 3340 Climate Change Science, MTR 3450 Dynamic Meteorology, MTR 4210 Forecasting Lab, MTR 4400 Advanced Synoptic Meteorology with lab, MTR 4600 Meteorology Research Seminar, SCI 2600 Integrated Biology and Earth Science with lab, SCI 2610 Integrated Physical and Chemical Sciences with lab. She also took a group of students to Alaska to study glacier retreat and was a guest in our storm chasing course.

Keah is passionate about teaching not only upper-level meteorology courses for majors, but also general education courses that serve the broader MSU Denver student body. She believes the Natural and Physical Sciences requirement plays a vital role in developing critical thinking skills and fostering an understanding of the scientific process. These courses give all students the opportunity to engage with evidence-based reasoning and explore how science helps us make sense of the world around us.

Office Hours

Office Location: Science 2020
Office Hours fall 2025: Monday online on Microsoft Teams: 12:00-2:00. Wednesdays from 1:00-3:00 in Science 2020. Every other Wednesday when I don't have faculty senate, I'm available until 5:00.

Additional Information

https://www.msudenver.edu/earth-atmospheric-sciences/meteorology/