Biology

Eight Western Kentucky University meteorology students will leave Bowling Green on Friday (May 12) for the annual Field Methods in Severe Weather Analysis and Forecasting course.

Even though the class is commonly called the WKU Storm Chase, the two-week trip to the Great Plains focuses on forecasting and documenting severe storms, University Meteorologist Josh Durkee said. The 2023 trip is the 14^th since the course was launched in 2010.

“WKU offers a wide variety of exciting experiential and applied learning initiatives. The Field Methods in Severe Weather Analysis and Forecasting course is among the most exhilarating and robust capstone-style offerings, which has a measured history of post-grad student placement and career success,” Dr. Durkee said.

This year’s participants are Tatiana Barr, a senior from Clarksville, Tennessee; Cassie Campbell, a senior from Marissa, Illinois; Samuel Davidson, a senior from Memphis, Tennessee; Austin Hayes, a senior from Georgetown; Autumn Kahafer, a senior from Brandenburg; Joe Lewis, a senior from Owensboro; Abraham Tekoe, a senior from Clarksville, Tennessee; and Jeffery Wood, a senior from Woodburn.

"Students participating in this field course develop advanced skills to prepare for careers in professional forecasting and emergency management,” Dr. Durkee said. “Many students who have taken this course over the years are currently working in National Weather Service and emergency management offices, and broadcast television outlets around the country. I am especially excited to head back out to the Great Plains for another season of training and unforgettable memories with these great students."

The students are looking forward to the experience. Six students are making the trip for the first time; Campbell and Kahafer were part of the 2022 class.

“The trip is an opportunity to expand my severe weather forecasting knowledge for my job,” said Campbell, who has accepted a meteorologist position with KFVS in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Hayes agreed. “I’ll get to apply what I’ve learned in the classroom and expand upon it,” he said.

During the trip, each student has the opportunity to serve as team leader, develop that day’s forecast, determine expectations for that day’s journey and make a presentation to the group.

Barr said she is excited to learn more about forecasting severe weather. “Forecasting severe weather can be hard. We will be learning to come together as a team and work toward that goal,” she said.

The students also will add to the miles covered by the WKU Storm Chase as they travel an area between Interstate 35 to the east, the Rocky Mountains to the west, the Canadian border to the north and the Mexican border to the south.

The class travels an average of 510 miles a day, which is nearly the distance from Bowling Green to Pittsburgh, and a two-week average of 7,070 miles, which is a one-way flight to Beijing, China.

The total miles driven since the class started is 97,994 miles across 192 days, which is 3.9 trips around the equator or 41% of the distance to the moon. The class will surpass its fourth trip around the world this year.

More: Follow @wkustormchase on Twitter

Contact: Josh Durkee, joshua.durkee@wku.edu

-WKU-

Western Kentucky University prides itself on positioning its students, faculty and staff for long term success. As a student-centered, applied research university, WKU helps students expand on classroom learning by integrating education with real-world applications in the communities we serve. Our hilltop campus is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which was recently named by Reader’s Digest as one of the nicest towns in America, just an hour’s drive from Nashville, Tennessee.