Dr. Jared Bowden
Director and State Climatologist
130 Research III Building, Centennial Campus
Box 7236, North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7236
Email: jhbowden@ncsu.edu
Phone: 919-513-0244

Dr. Jared Bowden was named director and state climatologist in May 2026. He had previously been serving as interim director of the office since August 2025, having joining the State Climate Office as associate director in 2024.

He was born and raised in Rocky Mount, NC and witnessed the historical flooding and damage from Hurricane Floyd in 1999. At the time, he was studying meteorology at NC State and continued his studies as a graduate student at NC State to better understand weather extremes, climate variability, and climate change. Bowden is a three-time graduate of NC State, receiving his bachelor’s degrees in meteorology and marine sciences and his master’s degree and Ph.D. in atmospheric science.

Dr. Bowden’s research expertise is in the application of atmospheric models, especially improving the accuracy of regional climate models used to produce high-resolution climate change projections. He has developed these projections for various parts of the world including the contiguous U.S., parts of the Caribbean, and Africa. He is a co-author on the fourth and fifth National Climate Assessment as well as Puerto Rico’s State of the Climate Report. He has worked closely with scientists and practitioners in various disciplines, including hydrology, engineering, ecology, air quality and epidemiology. Bowden is also a skilled climate science communicator who shares information with media and community members about enhancing extreme weather recovery and resilience and adapting to climate variability and change.

Bowden joined the office as its associate director in 2024. He previously served as a senior research scholar in the Department of Applied Ecology at NC State and as a research assistant professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is also a former National Research Council postdoctoral researcher who worked closely with scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.