I am a hydrometeorologist whose research seeks to develop early warning systems to improve disaster risk management, particularly for flooding. I am interested in global flood forecasting, surface water flood forecasting, ensemble forecasts, impact-based forecasts, risk communication, decision making and climate resilience.I joined the University of Oxford in 2021, moving from the University of Reading where I was a postdoctoral researcher. Prior to joining the University of Reading, I was a Senior Scientist at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) where I was involved in operational flood forecasting and led the scientific development of the Scottish Flood Forecasting Service. I have a BSc from the University of Bristol (2005) and an MSc from Newcastle University (2006). My PhD research, completed at the University of Newcastle in 2013, sought to develop a methodology for understanding dependencies in flood risk exposure in the UK. I have also held associate lecturing positions at the University of Lincoln and the University of Portsmouth. I started her career as a flood risk analyst at JBA Consulting.Working at the interface between research and practice, I regularly works with partners including the Environment Agency and Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), UK Met Office, UK Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Red Cross Climate Centre. I am an Editor for the Journal of Flood Risk Management and an affiliate of the UCL Warning Research Centre. I am a member of HEPEX and the British Hydrological Society and I actively contributed to the work of the Royal Meteorological Society.Current ResearchI am involved in interdisciplinary research improving the operational use of risk-based flood forecasting science. For more details please visit my University of Oxford staff profile (https://www.geog.ox.ac.uk/staff/lspeight.html)TeachingI am a Career Development Fellow at Hertford College. I am responsible for teaching undergrad students across the entire breadth of the physical geography curriculum. I also teach on departmental courses on geographical data science and the 'Climate and Catchment Processes' module on the MSc in Water Science, Policy and Management (WSPM).