Karlie Wells Tornado Camp 2018

Tornado Camp Essay

by Karlie Wells

My decision to pursue a career in meteorology was actually driven by a paralyzing fear of severe weather growing up. I would go into full-blown panic attacks when a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for our area, fearing that a tornado would be produced and destroy life as I knew it. In an attempt to cope with this fear, I would keep my eyes glued to the local news station and listen to the reassuring words of the meteorologists. I eventually became known as the family meteorologist, since I would call long distance relatives and warn them of oncoming severe weather in their area. When the time came to choose a career path, there was no doubt in my mind that meteorology was the route I wanted to take.

So, you can imagine my family’s confusion when I told them, “I’m going to tornado camp this summer!” What?! The same little girl who would tremble at the sound of thunder is going to chase…tornadoes?? The thought was preposterous. But, I figured there was no better way get over my phobia once and for all than to face my fears head-on and learn great severe weather forecasting techniques along the way. So, I packed my bags for the 3.5-week journey, hoping that I would have the strength and open-mindedness to remain calm, learn a lot, and have a great time.

Once arriving in Lubbock, I had learned a few key things about Texas. It’s really flat, extremely hot, and has some fantastic BBQ. After meeting the Texas Tech team and learning about the project, I couldn’t wait to get out in the field. So, after a week of staying in Lubbock due to weak flow, we decided to head out a few days earlier than the project started since these days looked favorable for supercell formation. That day, we made it up to Goodland, Kansas to stay for the night. After eating some amazing Mexican food, we noticed a storm brewing off in the distance. Upon further inspection, we realized that it was indeed a supercell, and soon enough, it produced a tornado warning. So, with no intentions on chasing that night, the crew decided that we couldn’t pass up this storm. Jumping into our vehicles, Chris Weiss (the Texas Tech professor) put his years of experience on display as he conjured up a chase plan on the spot. I was just happy that Austin was driving instead of me, because the whole situation made me a little uneasy.

It’s a good thing we decided to chase that storm, because it ended up being the best storm we saw the whole trip. Looking out the window, that supercell structure looked like something straight out of a textbook. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. That giant rotating system was as terrifying as it was beautiful, and I don’t think that any amount of studying could have prepared me for what that would look like. The great thing about it was, I was completely awe-inspired by that storm, and my fears slowly fell away. Following the Texas Tech crew and hearing them on the radio really made me feel safe, and I trusted their years of experience. It was at this point that I knew the rest of the trip would be amazing.

During our time at tornado camp, we got to see some pretty awesome storms, and we were lucky enough to see a system that produced a few land spouts. Even though the land spouts were over 10 miles away, it was still incredible to see their formation first-hand. But for me, the scariest system was actually one where the skies were literally green and there was a lot of cloud-to-ground lightning. I had heard of the whole “eerie green skies” concept before tornado camp, but never thought I’d actually get to see it. Another amazing part of the trip was being able to get outside of the car and watch the system pass by you (at a safe distance, of course). Feeling the gust front hit you like a cold brick wall was such an interesting thing to experience, and seeing the storm first-hand really made it even more breathtaking.

After participating in Tornado Camp, I can honestly say that I have gained some extremely valuable forecasting skills. At that point, I had only taken atmospheric dynamics courses and a weather systems course, but had never actually had experience with forecasting. At morning forecast discussions, we would try to figure out which areas had the best ingredients for tornado formation. As I learned, these ingredients were 0-6 km shear above 40 knots, a proper lifting mechanism, moisture (dew points above 60 degrees), and a large amount of CAPE. We would often use the College of DuPage website to look at outputs from the NAM NEST and HRRR models for these parameters. Eventually, I was able to look at these models the night before a chase, and feel comfortable coming up with a target location.

Another invaluable part of this experience was being able to bond with the members of the Texas Tech crew, as well as the other tornado camp attendees. There were several times that the Tech crew would share their chasing experiences with us, and also give us insight into their forecasting techniques. If it weren’t for their willingness to take us under their wings and show us the ropes, this trip wouldn’t have been nearly as fun nor rewarding as it was. This project was also a collaboration between Texas Tech, University of Nebraska Lincoln, and University of Colorado Boulder, so we really got an in-depth look at how a large field campaign operates, while also being exposed to even more knowledge from other experts in the field.

Overall, this tornado camp experience was the trip of a lifetime. We got to see a lot of the central U.S. while chasing incredible storms and learning top-notch forecasting techniques. On off days, we even enjoyed some fun activities like going to Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, Caprock State Park, and doing some golfing/bowling in not-so-fun places in the middle of Nebraska. I feel like this enhanced my Michigan experience because it allowed me to understand the magnitude of supercell storms, and gave me more of a glimpse into the operational side of meteorology. Until this point, my time at Michigan has been spent in research, and learning about weather events like snow storms, since these are more native to our area. Getting out and seeing a different side of weather phenomena is something that’s really expanded my horizons and will help me think about forecasting a little differently. I had a lot of great times and hard laughs with a lot of incredible people, and I would highly recommend this trip to any student, meteorology major or not.