FLORIDA CAMPUS
From Classroom to Cyclones
DID YOU KNOW?
Some students grow up knowing the career they want to chase in life. Embry-Riddle senior Ryann Jones (’24) merged two passions, meteorology and theater, and then set out to pave her career path. “Creating entertaining weather stories and explaining complicated severe weather phenomena is my passion,” the weather-and-tornado- obsessed Meteorology major shared. Jones partook in a broadcasting competition where she explored the National Hurricane Center’s “Cone of Uncertainty” storm-tracking graphic, focusing on the 2022 Hurricane Ian. Jones took home two first-place awards from the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists in the categories of Climate/Environmental Reporting and Weathercaster for her analyses. Jones’ pursuit of her dream career has become more of a reality. She recently entered the field as the first-ever Black female meteorologist for First Coast News in Jacksonville, Florida, and hopes the impact she leaves will encourage other girls to enter STEM fields. “I want to empower young girls to go into STEM, especially minorities,” she said, with aspirations that other girls will pave their own paths in the industry.
Named after “The Muppets” characters, “Kermit” and “Miss Piggy” are twin WP-3D (“P-3”) Orion aircraft, which fly into hurricanes at an altitude of about 10,000 feet. The aircraft are large and tough and can fly through the eyewall of a tropical cyclone, the most intense part of the storm.
Image Courtesey of NOAA
This past spring, two Meteorology undergraduates Lauren Villafane (’24) and Sean Stoltz (’23) were given the rare research opportunity of being invited onboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Hurricane Hunter aircraft. “This trip provides an opportunity to see the research side of things, as well as get out there and ask questions from people who have been working in the meteorology field for years.” Laura Villafane ’24 Meteorology
While in the air, the students aided in test launching instruments designed to measure factors in hurricanes that will help them understand the physics of what makes hurricanes more intense. Dr. Josh Wadler, assistant professor of Meteorology, explained that the purpose of the flights was to validate innovative technologies for making measurements close to the ocean’s surface. Using small Uncrewed Aerial Systems (sUAS), the team assessed the new instruments’ reliability in surviving being thrown out of a plane at 210 knots and if they communicated proper measurements back to the Hurricane Hunter aircraft. They conducted these tests on a clear day, rather than during a hurricane, to ensure their stability before being released into an actual hurricane. “To actually get to fly with them is a dream,” said Stoltz. “This research opportunity will give me a great way to make connections in NOAA’s aviation department and help me move in that direction.”
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