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Michaela Mulligan - Environment and Climate Reporter
Michaela Mulligan

Environment and Climate Reporter

Tampa Bay has been my home since around the time I took my first steps as a toddler. I took a short break away to pursue my passion for storytelling at the University of Florida. But now I’m back and excited to be telling the stories that make my home unique. When I’m not hunched in front of a computer or waiting in line for coffee, you can find me outside enjoying Florida’s beaches. Or when it’s just too hot, snuggled up inside with my two cats, Willow and Gabby, watching the latest home renovation show.

  1. Tampa Bay airports working to comply with Florida’s weather modification ban
    • Environment
    A Delta Air Lines passenger jet taxis away from a gate at Tampa International Airport in 2024. All public-use airports in Florida will be required to file monthly reports concerning weather modification, per a new state law.
  2. Plant City sees rare flash flooding. More rain is on the way for Tampa Bay.
    • Weather
    A boat travels through a rainstorm off Veterans Memorial Marina Park in July 2024. A low pressure system moving west across Florida this week is expected to bring up to 4 inches of rain in areas of Tampa Bay.
  3. Forecasters eye area near Florida. Rain expected in Tampa Bay.
    • Environment
    Erich Dreyer launches a canoe before paddling with his wife, Feroza Dreyer, in St. Joseph Sound off Palm Harbor in late June as a thunderstorm brews in the distance over the Gulf of Mexico. Heavy rain is expected this week in the Tampa Bay area.
  5. What can Tampa Bay emergency managers learn from central Texas floods?
    • Weather
    A sign warns motorists of a tropical storm near Clearwater Beach on Aug. 3, 2024. Local emergency officials are confident in their messaging system.
  6. Mosquitoes are thriving in Tampa Bay. Inside the effort to stave them off.
    • Environment
    Mary Bolton, an entomology assistant trainee for Pinellas County Mosquito Control, examines a pile of black salt marsh mosquitoes, which are considered a nuisance species.
  7. Expect a rainy Independence Day in Tampa Bay
    • Environment
    Fireworks light up the night over Upham Beach in St. Pete Beach on Independence Day in 2019 after clouds conceded enough of the sky for the pyrotechnics to have their moment. Meteorologists are expecting high rain chances in Tampa Bay on July Fourth this year.
  8. High rain chances in Tampa Bay as forecasters eye possible system near Florida
    • Hurricane
    A line of storms creeps toward the coastline along the Dunedin Causeway Monday. The National Hurricane Center is continuing to monitor the area in and around Florida where a system could form later this week.
  9. Florida to investigate drinking water problems in Apalachicola
    • Florida
    The Apalachicola waterfront is seen in 2018. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Thursday that the state will investigate lingering water system problems in the community.
  10. Wednesday night tornado confirmed, damaged up to 65 homes in Largo
    • Environment
    A home collapsed after a tornado went through Ranchero Village, a mobile home neighborhood, on Wednesday night in Largo.
  11. DeSantis signs bill banning weather modification in Florida
    • Environment
    Children fish at the end of St. Pete Pier after a rain shower on June 10. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Friday that will ban weather modification in the state.
  12. Thunderstorms rolling in at night in Tampa Bay? Here’s why.
    • Weather
    Jose Nava, 63, casts his line as dark clouds roll over downtown at Demens Landing Park Friday in St. Petersburg. "It's perfect for fishing,” Nava said about the weather.
  13. Lucifer the famous hippopotamus has died at Homosassa Springs in Florida
    • Environment
    Lu, the oldest known living hippopotamus in captivity, moved around his enclosure at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park on January 17, 2019 in Homosassa, Florida. He died Sunday.
  14. Rain and thunderstorms likely in Tampa Bay this week. What to know.
    • Weather
    The National Weather Service is expecting elevated rain chances throughout the week. This photo shows downtown Tampa on a rainy day last summer.
  15. Here’s a look at the 2025 hurricane season forecasts so far
    • Hurricane
    Flooding from Lake Lake Maggiore, right, is seen along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street at 28th Avenue South in St. Petersburg after Hurricane Milton on Oct. 11, 2024.
  16. These Tampa Bay residents moved before a new hurricane season. They told us why.
    • Hurricane
    Brie Melton loads a box in the back of her car on Feb. 26 in Seminole. She and her husband have moved to Minneapolis. “The grass is greener sometimes in other places,” she said.
  17. Want to know what areas are flooding in Tampa Bay? Here’s where to look
    • Hurricane
    Houses are seen near the Alafia River as water creeps onto property in this Aug. 15, 2019 photo.
  18. Hurricane forecasts popping up again? Here’s how to read them.
    • Hurricane
    Debris left over from Hurricane Helene is pictured on the side of a road near Bahia Beach, in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton on Oct. 10 in Ruskin.
  19. NOAA just released its 2025 hurricane forecast. Here’s what to know.
    • Hurricane
    The Tiki Bar and Grill in Gulfport is heavily damaged from Hurricane Helene on Sept. 27. Hurricane experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday to gear up for what could be another active season.
  20. Florida board approves next steps toward proposed bear hunt
    • Environment
    Donald Register of Lake City holds a sign in support of a bear hunt while attending a public meeting of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Wednesday at the College of Central Florida in Ocala, where commissioners discussed proposed rules to reinstate a limited-entry black bear hunt — the first since 2015.
  21. Trump slashed weather agencies. Will it affect Florida hurricane forecasts?
    • Hurricane
    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Flight Director Quinn Kalen works at his station aboard the WP-3D Orion Hurricane Hunter during a flight into Tropical Storm Debby.
  22. Hot weather, high humidity coming to Tampa Bay
    • Weather
    Angelique Barrett, from Tampa, rinses off with her daughter Juno, 2, as she tries to remove the sand from her face while leaving Upham Beach on Friday on St. Pete Beach. “It’s pretty hot,” Barrett said. “It’s getting worse the longer we’ve been out here.”
  23. After weeks of dry weather in Tampa Bay, is rain on the horizon?
    • Weather
    Neighbors Cathy Lopresti, left, and Linda Tranchitella venture through a rainstorm in downtown Safety Harbor on July 11, 2024. After weeks of dry weather, meteorologists are expecting elevated rain chances this weekend.
  24. Here’s how the Clearwater Ferry investigation may play out
    • Clearwater
    Investigators search the wreckage of a Clearwater Ferry in Clearwater Harbor, near the Memorial Causeway, on Sunday after a crash that killed one person and injured several others. No arrests have been made in the case.