USF experts available to discuss hurricane-related topics as El Niño shapes outlook for 2026 season

On the heels of a relatively quiet 2025 hurricane season for Florida and the U.S. mainland, attention is turning to what lies ahead. Early indicators point to a strong El Niño pattern, which could temper storm activity - but as history has shown, even a single storm can define a season.

Now and throughout hurricane season, University of South Florida experts are available to help reporters break down what to watch, what last year taught us and how communities can prepare now. USF offers experts across climate and extreme weather topics, coastal systems, emergency management, public health and more.

Listed below are USF faculty experts, along with their focus areas. Members of the media interested in an interview are asked to contact the appropriate media relations team member to facilitate interviews based on the expert's availability.

Althea Johnson works with media outlets in the Tampa Bay region and Florida.

[email protected], 305-495-0306

John Dudley works with national media outlets.

[email protected], 814-490-3290

HURRICANES, STORM SURGE, SEA-LEVEL RISE AND COASTAL SUBSIDENCE

Gary Mitchum

Associate dean and professor of physical oceanography

• The impacts of sea-level rise, storm surge and hurricanes
• The broader connections between climate change and hurricanes

Patrick Rafter

Assistant professor of oceanography

• The science behind El Niño, why it's so difficult to predict, and how it impacts global climate systems, including hurricanes in the Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean
• How the ocean stores carbon and influences climate over time

Yonggang Liu

Associate professor of physical oceanography and director of the Ocean Circulation Lab

• Hurricane intensification forecasting
• Short-term storm surge scenarios
• Coastal flooding

Timothy Dixon

Professor of geosciences

• The effects of hurricanes on coastal flooding and long-term changes to the coastline
• Use of satellite geodesy to study coastal subsidence, earthquake and volcano deformation, aquifer depletion and melting ice sheets and glaciers

Robert Weisberg

Emeritus distinguished professor and founder of the Ocean Circulation Lab

• The impacts of hurricane storm surge, waves and flooding
• Storm surge and broader impacts of hurricanes on coastal ecosystems and communities

Mark Luther

Associate professor of physical oceanography

• The impacts of hurricanes and storm surge on critical infrastructure, including ports and bridges

FLOODING

Tom Frazer

Dean, professor of biological oceanography and executive director of the Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research and Innovation

• Flood planning and resilience
• The Florida Flood Hub's role in helping communities prepare for flood events and other natural hazards

Barnali Dixon

Professor of geosciences, director of the Geospatial Analytics Lab and executive director of the Initiative on Coastal Adaptation and Resilience at USF

• Development of a web-based application that gathers crowdsourced data in coastal communities to identify flood risks and inform emergency managers and policymakers

Donny Smoak

Professor of biogeochemistry

• What carbon buildup in coastal wetlands can tell us about long-term environmental stability
• The fate of coastal wetland ecosystems in the context of climate change, rising sea level and hurricanes

CLIMATE IMPACTS ON MARINE SYSTEMS AND ECOLOGY

Ping Wang

Professor of geosciences

• The effects of extreme weather, specifically hurricanes, on coastlines and beaches
• Using large-scale beach nourishment to make coastlines more resilient to storms

Chuanmin Hu

Distinguished professor of physical oceanography

• The impacts of hurricanes on red tide
• The use of satellite optics to address coastal ocean problems, including algal blooms and coral reef health

DISASTER RESPONSE AND RECOVERY

Elizabeth Dunn

Instructor of public health

• Community disaster mobilization, response and long-term recovery
• Training residents in basic response skills
• Sheltering and evacuation coordination

Ratna Dougherty

Assistant professor of public affairs

• Interorganizational coordination and agency response during disasters
• Disaster preparedness, recovery and resilience
• Emergency management plans, policies and evaluation of response effectiveness

Amber Mehmood

Associate professor

• Global disaster management and humanitarian relief
• Community-based disaster preparedness, hospital-based mass casualty preparedness and response, community education and outreach - especially directed at disadvantaged and culturally diverse vulnerable populations

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Seckin Ozkul

Assistant professor and director of USF's Supply Chain Innovation Lab

• Importance of optimizing supply chain management during hurricanes, particularly for vital items such as fuel and food
• Develops models that reflect the effects of multiple large hurricanes hitting the same region in a short time span

HURRICANES AND HEALTH

Kristin Kosyluk

Associate professor

• Stress and anxiety caused by hurricanes
• The impacts of natural disasters on people living with mental illnesses

EXTREME WEATHER AND OLDER ADULTS

Lindsay Peterson

Assistant professor of aging studies

• The impacts of hurricanes and other disasters on older adults in nursing homes, assisted living communities and the broader community
• Developed a disaster preparedness guide and a series of videos to help older adults prepare

SOCIAL MEDIA AND EXTREME WEATHER

Kelli Burns

Associate professor of advertising and mass communications

• The growing influence of social media platforms in natural disasters, including forecasting and real-time information sharing
• How social media - including weather influencers - shapes communication, public behavior and decision-making during weather events
• The spread of misinformation and disinformation about natural disasters on social media platforms

For topics not listed here, visit USF's full online experts guide.