Introducing Keely

Hey, everyone! I am 2/C Keely Martin and I am beyond excited to hit the road with SWIFT this year. I grew up in the rain shadow of Midland, Texas where weather typically remained fairly constant: arid! Midland has gone as long as 9 months without seeing significant precipitation. Rain was rare but I considered it a treat as it only fueled my interest in the weather. Since the early days of elementary school, I tracked the weather by listening to the morning weather reports daily at 5 am. Early morning swim practices before school made it a necessity for me to track impending dust storms. There is nothing worse than exiting a pool only to be coated with a film of brown dirt.
 Midland is just outside of Tornado Alley, but we still got our fair amount of tornado scares and severe storms tearing through the city. To think I used to be terrified of thunder as a child, sent scurrying to my parent's room in the middle of the night, and now, I can't wait to go searching for the storms. As I grew older and learned more about meteorological processes, I became less afraid of the loud noises from the sky and more fascinated with them. 
I am excited to apply the knowledge and practical skills I learned this year to the field
Rather than hearing or reading of an impending storm like I have been all semester, I get to venture into the heart of it. I'm excited to travel with an amazing group and see some of what Mother Nature has in store!