Being a part of the SWIFT team this year has been one of the most remarkable experiences of my Naval Academy career. Having the opportunity to travel and chase severe storms throughout the Midwest has been something truly special.
I learned a lot about the formation (and lack thereof) of supercells and tornadogenesis, building on the material I learned in SO242 this previous semester. Having the opportunity to see firsthand how a lack of moisture, lifting, or insufficient insolation can affect storm initiation allowed me to better understand what I learned in the classroom through application.
My favorite moment on this trip was in west Texas, when we rode just southwest enough to evade the dusty inflow of the storm we were following. The sun hadn’t quite begun to set, but was low enough in the sky to provide a warm glow (almost golden hour!) for the dust-wrapped supercell. What we didn’t know at that moment, was that we were looking at a wedge tornado. As beautiful as it was, it’s really awesome to look back realizing that we observed something even cooler than we knew at the moment.
As we make our way back to Annapolis, I’ve taken a lot of time to think about all of the opportunities we’ve had to chase this year, and I don’t have any regrets. Even though there were a few occasions where we weren't able to observe tornadogenesis, I managed to learn more about what failure in initiation looks like in the field, and gain an appreciation for the special few moments of something amazing happening.
I want to thank everyone who made this trip possible, especially LCDR Burich, the folks over at the SPC in Norman, as well as Caney Valley Elementary School, and the team of awesome individuals I was able to work with in the field.
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