About Us
Public Media Protecting Floridians
Who We Are
FPREN is a public safety and emergency alerting service covering the entire state of Florida through a collective of 14 public media broadcasters. We provide Floridians with the latest information regarding severe weather events including, but not limited to, hurricanes, tropical storms, flooding, wildfires, and freezes. Operating from WUFT-TV/FM at the University of Florida, FPREN provides partner stations with live-action and pre-produced content for all media platforms 24/7/365. FPREN’s broadcast station partners operate with resilient infrastructure to ensure they remain on the air to serve audiences even when when other forms of communication (such as cell phones, internet, and social media) are not operable. FPREN is a critical lifeline when Floridians need it most.
What We Do
FPREN provides timely public safety information during severe weather, tropical cyclones, and other emergency events throughout the state.
Surrounding these events, we promote preparation as well as response and recovery initiatives in close partnership with Emergency Management officials across Florida.
In cooperation with our many government partners, we also provide year-round safety education, along with the information necessary to help residents make crucial decisions to protect their life and property.
The FPREN Team
FPREN’s operational team provides partner stations with vitally important public safety information, in addition to scientific and safety-related content that is unique, highly targeted, and customized to the local station and market. Because FPREN reaches all of Florida on every media platform, this group of highly experienced broadcasters, scientists, and journalists plays a critically important role in providing stations with exactly what their audiences want and need during the most sensitive times.
Meet the Team
Led by a talented team of meteorologists and multimedia producers,
FPREN is committed to ensuring public broadcast organizations
have the critically important content needed to best serve their local audiences.
Randy Wright
Randy Wright serves as the Executive Director of the University of Florida’s Division of Media Properties, which is the umbrella organization that operates UF’s public media WUFT-TV, WUFT-FM, WUFT Classic, and GHQ — in addition to commercial television and radio stations WRUF-TV/AM/FM. Wright founded FPREN in 2013, and he continues to serve as an FPREN host during Phase I live coverage of significant events such as Hurricanes Idalia, Ian, Michael, Irma, and many others.
Megan Borowski
Megan Borowski is a Senior Meteorologist for the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network and has been with the organization since early 2019. A New Jersey native, Borowski completed her B.S. in Meteorology at Rutgers University. While in school, she served as an intern at WNBC in New York. After graduating, Borowski was a freelance meteorologist for ABC Network News in New York, where she produced weather for “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight.” Borowski earned her M.S. at the University of Florida, where she researched high-resolution weather models. While she loves the science of meteorology, Borowski is also devoted to communicating essential forecast information to the public. She is dedicated to the mission of FPREN, which is to keep the public safe and informed during impactful weather events.
Chip Maxham
William “Chip” Maxham is an accomplished meteorologist with more than 20 years of experience tracking severe weather and communicating with audiences via television, radio, and digital and social media. Maxham holds a bachelor’s degree in atmospheric science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in atmospheric science from Florida State University, where he focused his studies on tropical weather systems.
Rob Harder
Rob Harder serves as the Director of Operations for UF’s Division of Media Properties including WUFT-TV/FM, WUFT Classic, GHQ, WRUF-AM/FM/TV, and FPREN. Harder serves as a host and producer during FPREN’s Phase I coverage.
Tom Hudson
Tom Hudson is the Senior Economics Editor, Special Correspondent, and Host of the statewide program “Florida Roundup” which airs on many Florida Public Media stations each Friday. Hudson also serves as one of FPREN’s hosts during significant events, such as 2023’s Hurricane Idalia, when FPREN was in live Phase I coverage for two days.
Our Florida Public Media Partners
Since 2016, Citizens Property Insurance has been a proud statewide supporter of the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network.
FPREN operates as a high-level collaboration between high-power FM radio stations that cover the state of Florida. Each of these stations is licensed uniquely to a wide variety of entities including universities, colleges, and community licensees, but they all share in the mission of ensuring the safety of Floridians. FPREN content is broadcast live on FPREN partner stations, and digital/social media content is distributed through their unique local channels — ensuring listeners and viewers connect their local station with the information that’s important to their lives. FPREN operates as a white-label service to ensure the local public media brand is enhanced and receives the credit for the potentially lifesaving information being broadcast in their market.
Our Government Agency Partners
Since its inception, FPREN has worked in partnership with the National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service as well as local, state, and federal public safety and emergency management agencies. These close collaborations support our common mission of keeping residents informed and safe at all times.
WUFT/FPREN has partnered with the Florida Division of Emergency Management on numerous occasions to assist in the dissemination of important public safety information and campaigns such as “Know Your Zone.” This campaign is designed to increase people’s knowledge of their evacuation zone and to encourage hurricane preparation. Very successful during its launch, the campaign has been upgraded and is also a featured tool on FPREN’s Florida Storms mobile app.
Discover Our Florida Storms App
Developed exclusively by FPREN, the Florida Storms app displays fast, interactive radar and local storm information from the National Weather Service and provides real-time information to promote public safety during any weather hazard.
Using a combination of exclusive storm track algorithms and the expertise of professional meteorologists, users receive frequent updates on developing severe weather events.
Users can:
- Get notifications from the National Hurricane Center.
- Find evacuation routes.
- Check storm tracks.
- Review preparedness guides.
South Carolina Emergency Information Network
In 2018, FPREN partnered with South Carolina Public Radio and South Carolina ETV (SCETV) to launch the South Carolina Emergency Information Network (SCEIN). SCEIN focuses on building local public media brands by delivering timely safety information and emergency messaging to public radio and TV stations across the state.
Through South Carolina Public Radio stations, SCETV, scetv.org, and social media channels, SCEIN provides residents with live, breaking information related to natural disasters and other significant emergency events including hurricanes, tropical storms, and severe weather.
Various multimedia platforms and unique tools are continuously being added, including the installation of eight remote weather stations with live camera systems, enhanced website elements, plus emergency messaging upgrades to SCETV’s social media accounts.
FPREN and SCEIN serve as effective conduits, sharing information from emergency management, public safety, and other local, state, and federal agencies directly to millions of people via the resilient public broadcasting systems in place throughout Florida and South Carolina. This broad network of local public media stations provides the important severe weather, safety, and evacuation information to assist in protecting residents at all times.
