Welcome to The Lecture Lounge!
Get ready for an evening where extreme-weather science meets your favorite local taproom.
The Lecture Lounge is proud to host Dr. Jennifer Collins for an immersive look at "Beyond Wind: Is It Time to Adopt a New Hurricane Scale?" As a Professor at the USF School of Geosciences, Dr. Collins is one of the most decorated hurricane researchers in the country and a leading authority on hurricane climatology and evacuation behavior. She holds the rare trifecta of being a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Meteorological Society, and the American Association of Geographers. Having earned her doctorate from University College London, she's the author of Florida Weather and Climate: More Than Just Sunshine and multiple edited volumes on hurricane risk in a changing climate.
You'll grab a drink and settle in as she breaks down why the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale — the metric the National Hurricane Center has used to communicate risk for over 50 years — is quietly failing us. She'll walk through the pitfalls of the current system, the new scale she and her international team of collaborators are proposing (yes, including a potential Category 6), and why the way most people use hurricane categories to make evacuation decisions could actually be putting them at greater risk. Along the way, she'll share what her Florida-based evacuation research reveals about why we stay when we should go — and practical guidance for the next storm.
The night kicks off with a sharp, eye-opening lecture, followed by a deep-dive, live podcast-style conversation between our host and the professor. We then open the floor, giving you the rare opportunity to press one of the country's leading hurricane scientists with your own questions — the ones you've been meaning to ask since Milton. After the talk, stick around to mingle with Dr. Collins, our community of curious minds, and the Lecture Lounge team.
It's not just a lecture; it's the conversation Tampa should have been having for years. Don't miss this chance to bridge the gap between academic expertise and a great night out!
