The month of May was exciting for the few meteorology students who enrolled in the Summer Field Course in Earth Sciences. Fifteen undergraduates from the Cal U meteorology program enrolled in the 5th annual Storm Intercept Course on the High Plains of the U.S.

After meeting all the pre-requirements for the course, students left in two University vans on Sunday, May 15th @ 8am. Based upon the student forecast that morning, the first night target was Columbia, MO and a Monday briefing with Larry Smith (Cal U alumnus) and the University of Missouri chase team. Other days allowed our team to catch-up with alumnus Dustin Devine (WeatherBank, Inc.) & Janice Bytheway (Colorado State University).

A full text discussion of the forecasts and events encountered on the trek can be found in this example Chase journal (click here). A full descriptive journal was required of every student enrolled in the course and was assessed for a grade in the field course as partial fulfillment of the requirements. Along the trek, students learned how difficult convective forecasting can be (especially when there is dominant longwave ridging in place). Students learned a great deal about the weather, but also a great deal about themselves and their ability to forecast “in the field.” Moreover, current students were able to reconnect with alumnus living or attending graduate school in the High Plains and become better acquainted with one another. Check out our selected photos from the trip. Alyssa Gearing & Abraham Freedman will be creating a fall slideshow from the course so that incoming freshman can witness this year’s adventure. Next year’s course will again be offered in mid-May (2006) after final exams.

General Information

The drive west took us through St. Louis, MO.

Mesocyclone along Interstate 80, just outside of North Platte, Nebraska.

Tornado that we observed near Cozad, Nebraska.

 

Secondary spin-up near Cozad, Nebraska continues in front of the first vehicle.

Students view pictures they captured of the tornado.

Sunset along Interstate 35 in Southern Kansas with a front-sheared thunderstorm in the distance.

Student Abe Freedman tries on a Nebraska corn hat at the Nebraska Bookstore.

 

Group shot in a fountain located on the University of Nebraska's main campus in Lincoln.

Another look at the lowering clouds along Interstate 80.

A view of the sky after the storm and tornado.

A student struggles to interpret modern art on the campus of UNL.

Group picture in Colorado with the mountains in the background.