Doyle Rice
Doyle Rice connects complex weather and climate science to their real-world consequences, especially the way extreme conditions and long-term warming reshape daily life and costs. He is a national correspondent at USA TODAY who focuses on weather, climate and related environmental science. His reporting follows the arc from rising dangerous heat and changing seasons to storms, El Niño and climate change impacts on utilities and infrastructure.
Extreme heat and climate-driven impacts
Rice’s recent work tracks how intensifying heat and shifting seasons are changing risk beyond the traditional summer window.
In coverage of dangerous hot days spreading into spring and fall, he explains how warming trends push heat indices higher and extend the calendar for health and safety concerns. He also reports on studies that link climate change to household costs, including research on how warming and drought can drive up water bills, framing climate change not just as an environmental issue but as a pocketbook and infrastructure story.
Climate reports and assessments feature heavily in his beat. When international bodies issue dire updates on climate change, he connects their findings to concrete hazards such as extreme heat, drought and disruptive weather patterns rather than abstract targets or negotiations. Across these pieces, his distinguishing focus is on the practical implications of climate science for everyday conditions, from the frequency of “dangerous” days to the strain on local water systems.
El Niño, the polar vortex and seasonal forecasts
Rice devotes substantial coverage to large-scale climate patterns such as El Niño and the polar vortex, using them to explain why a season looks or feels different from historical norms. Articles on El Niño’s emerging strength and its potential to become a “supersized” climate disruptor break down what the phenomenon is, how it interacts with other forces, and what that means for winter storms, rainfall and temperatures.
In pieces that link El Niño with the polar vortex, he shows how these systems can “reshape” winter, describing the dance between warm Pacific waters and stratospheric cold snaps.
Seasonal forecasts are a recurring format. Headlines like false fall surprises and fall forecast updates use near-term outlooks to help readers understand why conditions suddenly swing and when a more lasting seasonal shift might arrive.
These stories distinguish his beat by pairing forecast maps and model-based outlooks with plain-language explanations, making the mechanics of atmospheric patterns accessible while staying grounded in the latest data.
Hurricanes, lightning and severe weather risk
Rice’s environment coverage extends across the spectrum of severe weather, from hurricanes to lightning and lingering winter systems. In reporting on major hurricanes forecast to turn toward vulnerable regions, he follows storm tracks, intensity projections and timing, giving a clear view of what a storm might do and when.
His lightning coverage looks at national patterns, including which state leads the nation in strikes, turning meteorological statistics into digestible stories about risk and geography.
Cold-season pieces, such as those on the polar vortex remaining in forecasts even as winter ends, underline how he treats severe weather as a continuum rather than isolated events. He connects these episodes to longer-term trends in climate and atmospheric behavior, showing that extreme conditions are part of evolving baselines rather than anomalies.
The through-line in this part of his work is careful attention to both immediate hazard and the broader context that makes each storm or pattern noteworthy.
Studies, science and a national audience
Across his environment beat, Rice repeatedly anchors stories in scientific studies and expert analysis, then translates the findings into implications for a national audience. Pieces framed around “study says” or new research use clear summaries of methods and conclusions to explain why a result matters for readers’ daily lives, whether that involves utility bills, heat exposure or changed expectations about seasonal weather. Reports based on UN climate documents and other major assessments extend this approach to global-scale science, but the lens remains on tangible outcomes.
His remit at USA TODAY spans weather, climate and related science, and he has covered these topics for the outlet for many years. The format ranges from quick-turn forecast explainers to deeper dives into climate trends and large-scale patterns such as El Niño. Consistently, his work stands out for its blend of national scope, reliance on current science and focus on how environmental change translates into specific risks, costs and conditions.
4 more environment journalists.
Alan Halaly
Alan Halaly is a water reporter at the Las Vegas Review-Journal who treats the Colorado River as a working system, not a backdrop, making its governance, infrastructure and risks central to his beat. He covers how policy decisions and infrastructure projects shape the region’s water future, linking high-level choices on the Colorado River, dams, mining and data centers to everyday consequences under mounting heat and growth pressures. He reports deeply on new laws, lawsuits and regulatory shifts, focusing on on-the-ground impacts. His coverage spans Colorado River cuts, Hoover Dam operations, extreme weather, heat and parks, septic system rules, workplace and public health risks, lithium and gold mines, protected landscapes, data centers, AI infrastructure and public funding. Previously he reported for metropolitan dailies, digital outlets and public media, including the Miami Herald, WUFT, The Daily Beast and Miami New Times, with work recognized by Hearst, ONA and the Society of Environmental Journalists.
Alejandra Borunda
Alejandra Borunda reports on how climate change affects human health for NPR. Her work treats global warming as a direct cause of physical and mental health risks. She covers extreme heat, including undercounted deaths, lost sleep and local efforts to track heat-related fatalities. She also reports on wildfire smoke, hurricanes, disease spread such as dengue fever, trauma, stress and unequal health impacts. Her stories examine how communities protect themselves and recover, as well as practical solutions involving climate-resilient crops, agriculture and diet. Before NPR, she wrote about climate science and environmental issues for National Geographic, including glacier retreat, shade and heat inequity, and shrinking ice-fishing seasons. A former climate scientist, she combines field reporting with scientific data to connect atmospheric research to everyday risks, choices and people’s lived experiences.
Alex Lubben
Alex Lubben is an environment reporter at The Times-Picayune/The Advocate who connects climate risk to policy, industry and community change. He covers Gulf warming, flood protection, coastal restoration, wetlands litigation, industrial projects such as SpaceX’s possible expansion, invasive species and local ecosystems. His reporting tracks how law, politics and corporate decisions shape levees, drainage, marshes and long-term resilience. He also examines climate relocation, housing and labor, showing how hurricanes, floods and wildfires displace vulnerable communities and expose gaps in government systems. He works on a small environment team and brings an investigative background to document work, data analysis, legal and policy research, and field reporting. His work has appeared in VICE News, The Center for Public Integrity, The Nation, Jewish Currents and NBC News.
Alex Wigglesworth
Alex Wigglesworth reports on how climate, land use and public policy shape California communities. She covers the Inland Empire and Mojave Desert for the Los Angeles Times and is part of its environment team. Her beat includes wildfires, megadrought, extreme weather, desert development, conservation, wildlife, industrial hazards, aging infrastructure and regulatory enforcement. She has covered Western Joshua trees, desert tortoises, beaver-led restoration, toxic lead pipes, air-quality concerns after industrial fires and the effects of nuclear war on food systems. Earlier, she was a general assignment reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com. She combines breaking news with detailed reporting grounded in scientific studies, modeling and expert interviews. Her work connects fires, drought and other hazards to climate change, while examining how agencies, companies and land-use decisions affect people and ecosystems.