WPLG Local 10

Before joining Local 10, Michael served as Senior Emergency Management Specialist for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

There he directed the agency’s plans for responding to disasters of all kinds, but most importantly hurricanes, for the southeast U.S.

Lowry has 20 years of experience in tropical weather research, forecasting, and emergency management. Prior to joining FEMA, he served as a subject matter expert on hurricanes and tropical meteorology, most recently as visiting scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Hurricane Center (NHC), through its partnership with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).

Lowry served as on-air Hurricane Specialist and Tropical Program Lead for The Weather Channel (TWC). While at TWC, he provided network coverage for countless hurricanes and nor’easters, filing reports for NBC Nightly News, TODAY, MSNBC, and CNBC.

Lowry also served as a lead scientist at the NHC in Miami, where he was responsible for the development of new tropical cyclone-related products, including new watches and warnings, for the National Weather Service (NWS).

Other positions have included Senior Scientist at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) in Alexandria, Virginia, and emergency manager and meteorologist for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, where he provided support for nine presidentially declared disasters, including seven hurricane disaster declarations in 2004 and 2005.

Lowry is the recipient of the 2013 National Hurricane Conference Outstanding Achievement Award in Meteorology. He holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in meteorology from Florida State University.

LATEST CONTRIBUTIONS

1 day ago

Disturbance moves inland over Louisiana while tropics stay quiet

The disturbance dubbed Invest 93L washed ashore over Louisiana on Thursday, bringing widespread rainfall of 2 to 5 inches across much of southern Louisiana, with localized totals reaching double digits in the bayous of the Atchafalaya River basin north of Morgan City in coastal south-central Louisiana.

3 days ago

Invest 93L scraping the northern Gulf Coast, flood threat ramping up for areas west

We continue to follow the progress of Invest 93L, an area of low pressure that moved from the Atlantic across the northern Florida peninsula on Tuesday and is now scraping westward through the state’s panhandle along the northern Gulf Coast.

Tropical disturbance brings heightened flood threat to Louisiana later this week

So far in 2025, National Weather Service offices have issued more flood warnings than any other year on record dating back to 1986.

Possible Gulf development on heels of Florida flood threat

A disturbance that emerged off the coastal Carolinas on Sunday is expected to swing across Florida and into the Gulf by mid-week, where models suggest it could slowly develop as it scrapes across the northern Gulf Coast.

It’s Saharan dust season, but where’s the dust?

Big outbreaks of Saharan dust – tens of millions of tons of mineral dust hoisted from the sands of North Africa into the Atlantic each hurricane season – typically peak around this time each year.

Top hurricane scientists sound the alarm on looming NOAA cuts

On Wednesday, some of the nation’s top hurricane scientists joined House Democrats for a virtual press conference to sound the alarm on proposed budget cuts that would severely degrade hurricane monitoring and forecasting.

Forecasters issue revised hurricane season outlook

Forecasters at Colorado State University – the pioneers of seasonal hurricane forecasting – issued their July outlook for the hurricane season, nudging down numbers from their April and June outlooks, but still calling for a slightly above average season overall.

Where to look in July for tropical development

July is a transition month in the Atlantic when we begin to look a little deeper into the basin and closer to Africa for hurricane seedlings.

Trying to make sense of the unspeakable Texas tragedy

The catastrophic flooding that ripped through parts of the Texas Hill Country along the Guadalupe River northwest of San Antonio during the predawn hours on July 4th quickly turned into an unspeakable tragedy, killing at least 82 people, including 28 children.

Hurricane hunters set to investigate disturbance off Southeast US

Showers and thunderstorms are becoming more concentrated around an area of low pressure – now designated Invest 92L – centered about 100 miles off the coast of northeast Florida.

Se espera un feriado húmedo para partes de la península de Florida mientras una baja presión se organiza lentamente

Una baja presión frente al sureste de EE.UU. traerá lluvias intensas a Florida durante el feriado del 4 de julio. Aunque podría formarse un sistema tropical, la principal amenaza será la lluvia.

Wet holiday ahead for parts of Florida’s peninsula as low pressure slowly organizes

A combination of weather features, including a stalled front and developing area of low pressure off northeast Florida, have turned on the holiday tap, directing rounds of tropically-infused storms toward the Florida peninsula beginning today and extending into the holiday weekend.

Slow development possible off the Southeast US this weekend or early next week

We continue to monitor a weakening cold front now over the southeast U.S. that’s expected to stall over Florida by late week and could spin off a tropical depression or named storm by the weekend or early next week.

NOAA proposes permanently closing premiere hurricane research institute

Only days after the U.S. Department of Defense abruptly announced the immediate termination of satellite data critical to hurricane forecasts – granted a moratorium early Monday through July – NOAA posted details of its 2026 budget request to Congress.

A hurricane season like no other

As darkness descended on the Gulf of Mexico in October, a 1970s-era U.S. government turboprop plane neared the eye of the newly formed Hurricane Milton.

Michael Lowry

Hurricane Specialist and Storm Surge Expert

LATEST CONTRIBUTIONS