WPLG, the ABC affiliate in Miami, has named meteorologist Michael Lowry as its new Hurricane Specialist and Storm Surge Expert.
Lowry joins the station from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where he guided the agency‘s plans for responding to disasters including hurricanes. He replaces Bryan Norcross, who joined Fox Weather.
WPLG said Lowry becomes part of the largest team of meteorologists at any station in South Florida. The team is led by chief certified meteorologist Betty Davis.
“No other station in South Florida has a full-time hurricane specialist and storm surge expert on staff, it is part of our Weather Authority brand, and our viewers know they can tune in to us for credible, accurate hurricane information,” said WPLG CEO and president Bert Medina.
WPLG has a history of reporting on hurricane activity going back to the days when Bob Sheets, former director of the National Hurricane Center, provided on-air hurricane forecasts for the station. He was succeeded by Max Mayfield, another former director of the NHC.
Lowry grew up in New Orleans and had a childhood fascination with weather and hurricanes. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in meteorology at Florida State University.
He worked for the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Department of Defense before becoming lead scientist at the National Hurricane Center.
Lowry left the National Hurricane Center to become the hurricane specialist and storm surge expert for The Weather Channel.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the Local 10 family and to be able to bring my passion and expertise in hurricanes and tropical meteorology back to the South Florida community,“ Lowry said. ”Florida is the most hurricane-prone state in the country, and with rising seas and more people and infrastructure at the coast than ever before, the hurricane risk to South Florida has never been greater.
“The legacy of WPLG’s commitment to hurricane expertise is profound — most recently with former NHC director Max Mayfield and longtime hurricane specialist Bryan Norcross, both former colleagues, friends and mentors,” he added. “I look forward to continuing this tradition of bringing state-of-the-art science and forecasts to the viewers with Betty and the incomparable team at WPLG beginning with the 2022 hurricane season.” ■
