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6.1-magnitude earthquake strikes near Cuba; reports of light shaking in South Florida

Michael Lowry

Hurricane Specialist and Storm Surge Expert

Michael Lowry's profile
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
Keeping an eye to the Central American gyre for late next week

Keeping an eye to the Central American gyre for late next week

The opening volleys of the 2026 hurricane season have unsurprisingly come from the eastern Pacific so far, where Amanda – the basin’s first named storm – formed late yesterday morning, and two more systems are poised to develop into next week off the Pacific coast.

Hurricane season starts today. Here’s what to expect for week 1 and beyond

Hurricane season starts today. Here’s what to expect for week 1 and beyond

Today marks day one of the 183-day Atlantic hurricane season, which runs through Nov. 30. Forecasters expect overall hurricane activity across the Atlantic basin to be softened this season by a potentially historic El Niño building in the eastern equatorial Pacific, which acts to deter would-be storms on the Atlantic side by ramping up hostile wind shear.

First 2026 hurricane season outlook predicts least active Atlantic since 2015

First 2026 hurricane season outlook predicts least active Atlantic since 2015

Hurricane researchers at Colorado State University (CSU) – the group that pioneered seasonal hurricane predictions in the 1980s – issued their first outlook of 2026 Thursday morning, predicting slightly below average named storm and hurricane activity for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.