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Most university syllabuses lay out exactly when and where a topic will be covered — not so for the Hokie Storm Chase class at Virginia Tech.
Students in the advanced meteorology field course, in the Department of Geography, climb into three specially outfitted vans, and take the mobile classrooms on the road as severe storms develop.
“Every year when we’re leaving Blacksburg, we have no idea where we’re going to be,” said Aaron Swiggett, of the class of 2018, who was a trip leader for the seventh time this year. “Maybe the Northern Plains or the Central Plains, or maybe the foothills of the Rockies.”
Each of the six has a job as they try to position themselves to safely observe the extreme weather.
Swiggett, with his experience, is usually a driver. A navigator is in the front passenger seat.
In the third row, students act as spotters, describing what they’re seeing.
“The main area that we’re really relying on for information is that second row. We have an computer on a swivel station, with internet connectivity,” Swiggett said. “The student’s there in ‘the hot seat.'”
The group uses models posted by the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center, along with satellite imagery and meteorological data streamed to the internet from ground stations. As the day progresses, meteorologists in the center will issue mesoscale discussions — or MD — as storms develop.
“Where the hot seat really comes into play is on those chase days, because the things we are chasing evolve rapidly, very quickly,” Swiggett said. “We need to be positioned correctly, and always have a safety route — that’s something we really rely on from the hot seat.”
This year, students saw a tornado in Minnesota.
“We probably got a quarter mile or less away from the storm, and we had it pass right in front of us,” Swiggett said. “Students were able to experience what it’s like to be that close to a tornadic storm.”
Swiggett said his experience with Hokie Storm Chase helped him land a job with the National Weather Service.
“Not a lot of students have that on their resume, so it usually garners some interest from employers,” Swiggett said. “It’s a great way to get in the door and have something that’s kind of sparkly on the resume.”
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