Swain named Grist 50 Fixer

Daniel Swain received the Grist 50 Fixer award in 2025 for his work as an independent extreme weather science communicator. A self-described weather nerd, Daniel craved storms as a kid, and spends his professional life telling the story of the science behind them. 

“As one of the country’s most prolific scientist-communicators, he’s become known as the go-to source for speedy, informative insights on extreme weather events,” Grist reports. “He runs the Weather West blog and holds weekly office hours on his YouTube channel, during which he contextualizes extreme weather and climate science for a general audience.”

“Swain is a research scientist studying how climate change is affecting extreme weather events, but he’s never pursued tenure, concerned about the demands it would impose on his time. Instead, he’s placed a focus on being an effective and accessible communicator.” 

Read his full Grist profile here.