Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant

06/12/2026

Team Blog: Kristiana Allen of The Weather Wise and the VORTEX-SE Outreach and Engagement Team highlights our disaster meal prep workshops and shares a couple of recipes that are more of a meal than chips and Vienna sausages!

When disaster strikes, the last thing you want to worry about is what’s for dinner or how you’re going to cook it.

06/08/2026

Summer introductions...
Please say 'hello' to Becca Lee and Kayden Martinez, two of our 2026 college interns! Becca is going into her senior year at Michigan State University where she will graduate with a degree in Conservation Biology. Kayden recently graduated from The University of Arizona with degrees in Geography and Environmental Studies. We are excited to have both of them with us and appreciate them getting in sync and coordinating their outfits so early in the summer! Many thanks to Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant for supporting these opportunities!

06/08/2026

In this week’s Team Blog, Nina Davis, of Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center and Program for Local Adaptation to Changing Environments, reflects on the Gulf Conference ( ) and her team’s presentations, posters and collaborative projects on coastal , science communication and community partnerships. https://bit.ly/4dV170d

05/28/2026

🤖🌊 Students are exploring the future of ocean science through hands-on blue technology at the USM Gulf Coast Research Lab's Marine Education Center.

The Marine Education Center, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant and Blue Robotics created a curriculum that introduces students to sonar technology, marine robotics, seafloor mapping and careers in the growing blue economy. Using the Blue Boat autonomous surface vessel, students gain real-world experience collecting and interpreting data on the water.

Read more in this week’s Team Blog by Marine Education Specialist Lacy Lindsey! https://bit.ly/3PtuZYf

05/22/2026

🌪️ What would you do if a tornado warning went off while you were driving in a city you’ve never visited before?

In this week’s Team Blog, Tracie Sempier shares her recent tornado warning experience and highlights why it’s important to always have a sheltering plan.

Learn tornado safety tips, why emergency alerts matter and how the VORTEX-SE Outreach and Engagement Team (The Weather Wise) is working with partners like US National Weather Service New Orleans Louisiana, US National Weather Service Mobile Alabama, BPSOS-Gulf Coast and many others to help communities prepare for severe weather across Mississippi and Alabama.

NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, National Sea Grant College Program

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Read Tracie's blog: https://bit.ly/3RVFSTb

05/14/2026

🦪 What’s causing sudden oyster die-offs in the Gulf? Researchers are working to find out.

In our Team Blog, Andrea Tarnecki of Auburn University Shellfish Lab describes three new projects that we are funding to investigate Sudden Unusual Mortality Syndrome (SUMS), which affects market-size oysters and threatens oyster farms in Alabama and Mississippi.

Scientists are studying:
🔬 Parasites
🦠 Bacteria and viruses
🌡️ Water conditions like temperature and salinity
⚓ Management strategies to reduce losses

The goal is to help oyster farmers protect their crops and strengthen the future of the Gulf Coast oyster industry.



Read about the research: https://masgc.org/article/new-research-on-oyster-mortalities-underway

05/14/2026

Today, Tracie Sempier, our resilience lead, was cooking up recipes, sharing food safety tips and teaching people how to use a butane camp stove during our disaster meal preparation webinar. It was her first time offering this class online!

She made orzo salad and pizza sandwiches - two meals you can make in the days after losing electricity. The webinar highlighted dishes you could eat in place of all those hurricane snacks!

05/12/2026

Visit a Friend – Stay Safe and Enjoy Some Company

🌧️ Don’t ride out the storm alone! Head to a friend’s sturdier home—stay safe, hang out, maybe even binge a stormy movie or two.

🌪️ It's time for a visit – If you're in a mobile home or high-rise apartment, a severe storm is no joke! Check weather alerts, and when the conditions worsen, head to your family’s home, ideally with a basement or secure structure. It’s the perfect excuse to catch up, share a meal, or play some board games while the weather passes. If you need to shelter, you can do so together, with less worry – for you and them! Safer and fun—what could be better?
Stay safe, stay connected – A visit to family offers both shelter and special moments.

Credit to Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium.