Closing thoughts by Colin

As I write this post, our chasing days are over for SWIFT 2017, and we are slowly making our way back towards Annapolis through the Dallas/Fort Worth area. This year's SWIFT was once again an amazing time spent with 8 other people, and we had quite a variety of experiences, everything from hiking up to the highest point in Oklahoma to seeing 3 or 4 tornadoes. This trip definitely lived up to my expectations, and in many ways exceeded them.

Throughout SWIFT, I gained a better appreciation for severe weather and the difficulty of forecasting it. Especially as compared to last year, I improved a lot in my understanding and use of radar products to track storms and choose the best storm to follow, as well as how to delegate roles and responsibilities to the other 6 Midshipmen in the van. I also enjoyed learning about and actually getting to climb around in a National Weather Service radome to see where some of the products we use to chase storms actually come from. Overall, SWIFT 2017 was a great time spent with great people, and has left me with a ton of awesome memories that make this trip one of the highlights of my Naval Academy time!