Eric Berger
Eric Berger is a certified meteorologist and space and science journalist who leads Space City Weather, delivering hype-free daily forecasts and explanatory coverage of weather and climate affecting the Houston area. He has reported on weather in and around Houston for more than two decades and has built a strong brand in both space news and local forecasting. His coverage stands out for calm, precise communication of risk, a strict no-nonsense style, and clear translation of complex atmospheric dynamics into practical information.
Hype-free forecasting for the Houston area
Space City Weather was founded in 2015 to cover Houston weather news and forecasting with accuracy and without hype. Berger sets the tone for the masthead with a promise of informative, hype-free analysis that continues the style he developed in earlier newspaper weather and hurricane coverage. His weekday morning updates are consistent whether conditions are quiet or severe, maintaining a reliable cadence that emphasizes continuity for the audience.
Across routine forecasts he specifies temperature ranges, rain chances, and timing, using straightforward numbers and plain language rather than dramatic framing. Geographic detail is a regular feature of his work, distinguishing between coastal and inland areas and noting corridors such as those along and south of Interstate 10 when precipitation will differ across the region.
This combination of precision, regular updates, and an explicit rejection of hype defines his value on the environment beat.
Dust season, heat, and daily rain chances
Berger’s day-to-day coverage frequently focuses on late-summer patterns, including dust season arriving alongside persistent sun and heat, and what those conditions mean for residents and businesses. He treats extended stretches of hot, sunny weather as an evolving pattern, explaining how background moisture and atmospheric support shape whether the same heat produces scattered showers or largely dry days.
In a forecast on widespread showers with rain chances lingering through the weekend, he breaks down expected rainfall totals, noting that some storms can drop 1 to 2 inches of rain while most areas see less. He quantifies rain probabilities for successive days, shifting from roughly 60 percent to about 40 percent as atmospheric support for storms declines, and ties those changes directly to expected high temperatures in the low- to mid-90s. In pieces that take a “real talk” approach to questions such as whether a cool front is truly coming, he strips away speculation and focuses on what guidance actually supports, giving readers a clear sense of how much change to expect from the familiar heat and humidity pattern.
These incremental, pattern-focused forecasts show him as a reporter who specializes in explaining marginal shifts in risk rather than chasing singular dramatic events.
Explainers on El Niño and tropical quietude
Beyond daily forecasts, Berger writes longer explainers that connect local weather to larger climate drivers. In coverage of an Atlantic hurricane season on track to break a record for quietude, he situates the lack of tropical activity in historical context while still detailing everyday thunderstorms and weekend temperature ranges in the low- to mid-90s.
An in-depth piece on a “super El Niño” examines what that phenomenon means both locally and globally, signaling his interest in bridging regional impacts with planetary-scale climate dynamics.
These articles show his capacity to move from short-term forecasts to longer-range seasonal and interannual signals, retaining the same clear style and practical emphasis. For communications tied to topics like El Niño, tropical activity, or broader climate patterns, his work demonstrates comfort with both the physics and the local implications.
Science, technology, and space in service of weather coverage
Berger’s journalism is rooted in science reporting as much as in meteorology, and that dual background shapes his environmental coverage. He has more than two decades of experience in journalism, with the last 15 years focused on online communication of space, science, and weather information.
He has authored books on the origins and development of SpaceX, reflecting deep familiarity with aerospace and technology that complements his atmospheric expertise.
In a policy-style post on how Space City Weather will and will not use artificial intelligence, he explains that his forecasts rely on tools ranging from hand-drawn isobar maps to advanced numerical models on supercomputers, but that the actual writing of forecasts remains fully human. He states a commitment to keeping the site free and open, and to avoiding AI-written forecasts while selectively using AI-based modeling and occasional labeled illustrations.
This stance reinforces the central theme of his work: transparent, human-led interpretation of complex data for a general audience, grounded in scientific literacy rather than in automated output. It also signals that his interest in technology is in service of clearer, more accountable weather communication, not a replacement for his editorial judgment.
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.