VU Meteorology

MET385 Day 4 | Lincoln, NE —> Bloomington, IL Today we headed back east to chase storms in central Illinois, where we saw some intense hail cores and several dust spin-ups.

NOAA Research introduced & is redeveloping our national Doppler radar network. It provides the radar observations used to keep you safe in severe weather (the same ones seen on TV & your phone). @NOAAResearch faces elimination. Learn more: bit.ly/4cz2RtC #SaveNOAA

Is Newly Minted Meteorologist Monday a thing? We think it is! A little delayed but a HUGE congratulations to our newest meteorologists and geoscientists! We can't wait to see what amazing things you do in the future. We are so proud of you 🤎💛

18Z special sounding launched by Valparaiso University under mostly sunny skies. The campus is now under a severe thunderstorm warning - stay safe! Thanks to the prospective student who helped us launch this balloon!

Throwback to the Moellering Series! In April, 6 experts came to @ValpoU to discuss climate & its impact on society. Workshops/career sessions were held with our students, & a panel discussion was open to the public. A HUGE thank you to the panelists for their time & insights!

Check out this story on @ABC57News where meteorology professor Kevin Goebbert discusses with @EmmettTwomeyWX how the weather dictated the timing of D-Day! abc57.com/news/how-one-w…

We partnered with @EmmettTwomeyWX from @ABC57News (also a VU MET alum!) to give insights about our yearly storm chasing course for their Project Tornado segment! Check it out below 👇 (pt 1, ~ minute 3) abc57.com/project-tornado

MET385 Day 10 | Wichita, KS —> Hastings, NE Our final day of the trip was spent launching a balloon and visiting the geographical center of the United States. Tomorrow we start our long drive home to Valpo.

MET385 Day 9 | Denton, TX —> Norman, OK —> Wichita, KS After some intense chasing yesterday, we headed to OU and toured the National Weather Center with Cameron Nixon!

Thank you all for showing us around! We had a great time visiting friends and seeing cool instruments in Norman!

MET385 Day 8 | Alva, OK —> Denton, TX Today we chased multiple cells across the Texas and Oklahoma border. We saw some amazing storm structures and lightning!

MET385 Day 7 | Oklahoma City, OK —> Alva, OK Today we encountered many other chasers in western Oklahoma. We saw an amazing anvil cloud and even met Reed Timmer!

MET385 Day 6 | Jonesboro, AR —> Oklahoma City, OK Today we drove to Oklahoma to set up for tomorrow’s chase.

MET385 Day 5 | Effingham, IL —> Jonesboro, AR After an overnight stay in Effingham with no intention of chasing today, we spontaneously decided to pursue a rapidly strengthening cell to our north, which ended up producing a strong tornado near Sikeston, MO.

MET385 Day 3 | Columbus, NE —> North Platte, NE —> Lincoln, NE Our first day of chasing included a balloon launch, awesome clouds, hail and a tiny tornado. We will stay the night in Lincoln and then head east to chase again tomorrow.

Special sounding launched under partly cloudy skies by Valparaiso University in North Platte, NE at 1930Z as a part of the convective field study course @NWSSPC @NWSNorthPlatte

MET385 Day 2 | Omaha, NE —> Columbus, NE We spent today visiting the Omaha Zoo and hiking near the Platte River. We then moved west and stayed the night in Columbus, positioning ourselves in a good spot for our first official chase of the trip tomorrow.

MET385 Day 1 | Valparaiso, IN —> Omaha, NE After a long 12 hours of driving, our team finally made it to our destination. We are staying the night in Omaha, then hiking and zoo adventures tomorrow while we wait for storms to initiate in the region on Wednesday into Thursday!

More congrats to give!! 🎉 We celebrate the outstanding geography and meteorology seniors, Jack Colwell and R.J. Knoerr! Additionally, (freshman!) Ethan Palmisano was honored for reaching the final four in the WxChallenge! ⛈️

HUGE congrats to six of our sophomores - we are so proud! 🎉 Students in this program gain hands-on experience in a NOAA related field while conducting a research project during their summer internship.