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Meteorology
College of Science and Technology
Millersville Meteorology is a flagship program of the University, one that is nationally recognized for its deep and broad immersion in the atmospheric and climate sciences, and innovative curriculum in space weather, air quality, water resources, data analytics, and emergency response and disaster preparedness. Our graduates enter the workforce as knowledgeable, skilled and competent professionals. In 2020, Millersville became only the seventh university in Pennsylvania to be designated as a StormReady University.
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meteorology students present at made in millersville conference
On April 14, 2026, two Millersville Meteorology students - Niko Omiridis and Rebecca Butterfield - presented their research at the Made In Millersville Conference. Dr. Eleanor Casas (Assistant Professor of Meteorology) served as the advisor for both students.
Niko explored how tropical cyclone cold wakes develop in the popular hurricane research model Cloud Model 1 (CM1). CM1 has the ability to couple with a highly-simplified ocean model, but Niko tested the accuracy of its simulated ocean cold wake. Niko found that the simulated cold wake in CM1 may be developing too quickly, such that both shallow and deep ocean mixed layers are deepening too quickly and that the SST is cooling too quickly when compared to both observations and numerical weather prediction models coupled to more complex ocean models. This result implies that the CM1 simulated hurricane intensification may be slowed more than in observed tropical storms and that the simulated air-sea interactions can be improved.
Rebecca explored the precipitation impacts of tropical cyclones in the Appalachian Mountains. She focused on figuring out which part of Appalachia has the largest or most frequent precipitation associated with tropical cyclone landfalls and compared that data to Pennsylvania. Rebecca found that the most impacted Appalachia region from tropical cyclone precipitation-induced freshwater flooding is in the foothills of North Carolina (where Helene hit), where upslope flow can greatly enhance precipitation amounts. The precipitation amounts in this region are so large that the average tropical cyclone system will cause widespread freshwater flooding. Interestingly, the foothills of the Poconos in northeastern PA (near Allentown) is also a "hotspot" region where the average tropical cyclone has caused significant freshwater flooding, likely also due to upslope flow. This region is often overlooked in tropical cyclone impact studies. Rebecca's results suggest that more research focusing on the meteorological factors that cause the enhanced precipitation in this region is needed, and she hopes to continue researching the weather risk and vulnerability with respect to tropical cyclone impacts in Appalachia in the future.
Millersville alumni, faculty, and students attend 106th ams conference
This year marked the 40th straight year that students in the Millersville Meteorology program had an opportunity to attend the Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The 106th Annual Meeting of the AMS took place in Houston, TX, from January 24-29, 2026. In addition to attending all other conference sessions and special symposia during the week, students had the opportunity to take part in the AMS Student Conference. Niko Omiridis, Melanie Jones, and Rebecca Butterfield presented their research as part of the student research poster session.
Additionally, Millersville University meteorology and emergency management programs hosted the MU Alumni and Friends reception on January 27th where over 200 students, alumni, and friends of the programs attended the celebration. Dr. Richard Clark (Professor of Meteorology, Emeritus and Past President of the AMS) and Dr. Sepi Yalda (Professor of Meteorology, CDRE Director) served as co-organizers for the event. The event was sponsored by generous donations from Integrated Systems Solutions, WeatherTrends, AccuWeather, Millersville University's Alumni Association, and the MU College of Science and Technology.
tornado signatures captured by x-band weather radar at millersville
On September 4, 2025, a vigorous disturbance swept through southeastern PA and triggered multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms. At 9:31 PM EDT, a supercell thunderstorm moving northeastward through southern Lancaster County produced a brief, EF-0 tornado near Quarryville. The Climavision X-band radar installed on Millersville University's campus in 2023 captured rotation within the thunderstorm that surrounding S-band, Doppler Radars failed to resolve due to the "radar gap" across much of the Lower Susquehanna Valley. Because the nearest Doppler Radar is nearly 100 miles away from Lancaster County, adequate low-level scans of the atmosphere are missing. Thanks to a partnership with Climavision, the X-band radar atop Millersville's water tower fills the gap and provides critical, low-level scans of the atmosphere during severe weather events. This tornado event was a prime example of this radar gap. Reflectivity from the radar showed a "hook," or appendage, on the supercell thunderstorm, and a tight "couplet" of inbound and outbound winds appeared on the storm-relative velocity (SRV) product (see below). Both features indicate rotation within a thunderstorm and a potential tornado, but neither were present in scans from the Doppler Radars in Sterling, VA; Dover, DE; or Mount Holly, NJ.
The EF-0 tornado was confirmed by a National Weather Service (NWS) Storm Survey conducted on September 7, 2025. The brief tornado spun up southeast of Collins, PA, and had peak winds of 70 mph. It was approximately 30 yards wide and on the ground for 0.15 miles. The tornado lifted the roof off a dugout at Solanco Youth Baseball Association (see below) and caused crop damage in a field just north of Encounter Church. There were no severe weather or tornado warnings issued prior to or during the supercell thunderstorm's passage. The NWS credited students and alumni of the Millersville Meteorology program, as well as broadcast meteorologists at WGAL TV (Lancaster, PA), for their assistance with relaying reports and sharing photos from the event.
(Before/after pictures of the dugout at Solanco Youth Baseball Assocation. Pictures taken by Millersville Meteorology students Anthony Haberman, Jack Zwolinski and Adam Daugherty).
Meteorology Student chosen as noaa Hollings Scholar
Willow Kint, a sophomore Meteorology major originally from Thurmont, MD, was recently selected as a NOAA Hollings Scholar, a prestigious award that supports undergraduate students in the atmospheric and oceanic sciences. Within the Earth Sciences department, she is a member of Millersville's student chapter of the American Meteorological Society and participates in the Campus Weather Service (CWS). Kint attended orientation from June 2-4, 2026, and will complete the internship during the summer of 2027.
"What really stood out to me about this opportunity was not only the financial support for both my junior and senior years, but also the internship experience that comes with it," said Kint. "My dream career is to work for the National Weather Service, so applying to this scholarship felt like the perfect opportunity to get that firsthand experience and better understand what the job truly entails."
The Hollings Scholarship is awarded to approximately 130 undergraduate students for two years of full-time study and a 10-week summer internship at a NOAA facility. The Hollings Scholarship program was established in 2005 in honor of Senator Ernest F. Hollings - a champion for ocean policy and conservation - of South Carolina. Intended to bolster undergraduate training in NOAA mission sciences, as well as increase environmental literacy, the award provides recipients with hands-on, practical experience in NOAA-related research, technology, policy, management, and education. Read more about the Hollings Scholarship Program >>
space weather activities
Millersville Meteorology remains quite active in the Space Weather (SW) Community. We are the only program in the U.S. to offer a Graduate Certificate in Space Weather and Environment: Science, Policy, and Communication that attracts professionals from a wide range of careers. Our graduates work in fields from solar physics research to space weather forecasting and occupy leadership positions across public, private, and academic sectors. A group of MU SW current students, graduates, instructors, and program coordinators (current and emeritus) attended the 2026 Space Weather Workshop in Boulder, CO (April 27-May 1, 2026).
Drs. Sepi Yalda and Rich Clark developed and co-chaired a panel presentation and discussion along with Dr. Mike Wiltberger (National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)) on Building the Space Weather Workforce of the Future on May 1. The session featured Dr. Dan Welling (University of Michigan), Dr. Robert Steenburgh (NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center), Dr. Barbara Thompson (NASA GSFC), Marissa Vara (NCAR), and Dr. Tamitha Skov (Space Weather Woman and Faculty Associate in Space Weather at Millersville University). The session also featured poster lightning talks where current student in the MU SWEN Certificate Program, Tanya Melnik, presented a talk titled "Bridging Space Weather Operations and Local News."
In addition, MU SWEN current students, Tanya Melnik, MaryBeth Kiczenski, and Vincent Ledvina along with other co-authors presented a poster titled "Initial Survey Results on Aurora Chasers' Use of Space Weather Forecasts and Uncertainty Information." Another poster titled "Bridging Space Weather Operations and Local News" was presented by Tanya Melnik and Vincent Ledvina. Two MU graduates, Mike Cook and Tony Williams were co-authors on these posters. A third poster was presented by current MU SWEN students, MaryBeth Kicsenski and Tanya Melnik, along with their co-author titled "From the Sun to Social Media: How Aurora Chasers Use Space Weather Data."
From Left to Right: Dr. Rich Clark (MU Meteorology Emeritus Professor), Tanya Melnik (MU SWEN current student), Bill Murtagh (Retired-NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center), MaryBeth Kicsenski (MU SWEN current student), Dr. Tamitha Skov (Faculty Associate-MU SWEN Program), Dr. Sepi Yalda (Professor of Meteorology and SWEN Coordinator), Sarah Housseal (MU Meteorology Alumna), Mike Cook (MU Meteorology Alumnus), and Vince Ledvina (MU SWEN current student)
Millersville METEORology students Excel in wxchallenge
WxChallenge is a collegiate-focused meteorological forecasting competition. It is a non-profit entity, whose income is used to maintain necessary infrastructure, promote the competition to students and faculty, and provide non-cash awards (trophies) for excellence in forecasting. Forecasters predict the daily high and low temperatures (in degrees Fahrenheit), maximum sustained wind speed (in knots), and cumulative liquid precipitation amount (in inches) for select locations across the United States. To allow for fair competition, forecasters are separated into categories. Category 3 forecasters include junior- and senior-level students, and Category 4 forecasters include freshman- and sophomore-level students. The competition runs for 10 weeks in the Fall semester and 10 weeks in the Spring semester. During this time, there are a total of 10 locations in which forecasts are made. In each location, forecasts are produced for a two-week period. At the end of that period, the top two students in each category receive trophies for their outstanding performance. There is an additional three-week tournament following the end of the Spring semester for the top 64 overall best forecasters.
Millersville Meteorology students have a long track record of success in WxChallenge. The 2022-2023 academic year has been no exception, with multiple students across all class levels winning awards. Below is a list of the top finishers from Millersville in select cities:
- Peter Corman: Runner-up finish (Category 4) in Knoxville, Tennessee (Oct. 10 - Oct. 24).
- Mark Battle: 1st-place finish (Category 4) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Oct. 24 - Nov. 7).
- Alex Massa: Runner-up finish (Category 3) in Olympia, Washington (Nov. 7 - Nov. 21).
- Peter Corman: Runner-up finish (Category 4) in Denver, Colorado (Jan. 23 - Feb. 6)
- Alex Sullivan: 1st-place finish (Category 4) in Atlanta, Georgia (Feb. 6 - Feb. 20).
- Gavin Morgan: Runner-up finish (Category 4) in Atlanta, Georgia (Feb. 6 - Feb. 20).
- Matthew Teare: 1st-place finish (Category 3) in Augusta, Maine (Feb. 20 - Mar. 6).
- Peter Corman: 1st-place finish (Category 4) in San Angelo, Texas (Mar. 6 - Mar. 20).
- Ethan Kerr: Runner-up finish (Category 4) in San Angelo, Texas (Mar. 6 - Mar. 20).
Congratulations on demonstrating true forecasting acumen in these difficult cities!
Weather Balloon Launch 10-03-2023
Millersville meteorology faculty and students conduct a weather balloon launch for the UNIV 103 classes.
Millersville meteorology faculty and students conducted a pair of weather balloon launches for the UNIV 103 classes on October 3, 2023, for demonstration purposes and in preparation for the Clairton project near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A radiosonde, or instrument used to transmit pressure, temperature, relative humidity, and wind measurements at various levels of the atmosphere, was attached to each balloon.
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project tiltting created by Millersville METEORology students
Remember the group of Millersville meteorology students who chased the EF-3 tornado in Mullica Hill, NJ, during Hurricane Ida? Under the leadership of Weather Information Center Director Kyle Elliott, they created the Thermodynamic Investigation of LCL Thresholds at Tornadogenesis and its Influence in the Northeast and Great Plains (TILTTING) project. For details on the project and how to support the students, visit TILTTING (millersville.edu/tiltting). Nearly 20 students are involved in the project, and 7 of them deployed to the Great Plains for a two-week period during May 2024 to conduct tornado research. Under the guidance of Dr. Greg Blumberg, this "chase team" released balloons to obtain atmospheric profiles of temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind velocity near supercells to assess the storm environment. While in the Plains, the students visited the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, OK, and talked with forecasters on the operations floor. They met with two of the senior leads at the SPC - John Hart and Rich Thompson - and toured the vehicle bays at the National Weather Center to see the mobile radars and mesonets. On chase days, the team shared the data collected with SPC and local National Weather Service (NWS) offices. Overall, four Intensive Observation Periods (IOPs) were conducted during the two-week period, and the team is aiming to present their findings at upcoming conferences.
The students have also designed their own probes that will eventually be used to penetrate and measure wind velocity and pressure perturbations within the condensation funnel of a tornado. IOPs have and will continue to be conducted in the Northeast, with teams of 6-10 students deploying on a rotating basis. Three IOPs took place in the Northeast during Summer 2022, with another three happening during Summer 2023. Incorporation of this data into numerical weather prediction models will increase accuracy of severe weather forecasts, improve tornado warning lead times and, most importantly, save lives.
Highlight Video of MU Meteorology Research Opportunities
Space Weather Group Conducts High-Altitude Balloon Measurements
As part of the Millersville University chapter of the American Meteorological Society, a group of students studying Space Weather periodically conducts launches of a balloon carrying a payload of instruments for measuring X-rays, Gamma rays, and UV rays, as well as a radiosonde for measuring air temperature, pressure, relative humidity, and wind speed and direction. The balloon typically carries its payload to an altitude of about 100,000 feet.
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two Millersville Meteorology Students at the National Weather Center's Research for Undergraduate Experiences - Summer 2025
Two Millersville University Meteorology students spent 10 weeks during this past summer at the National Weather Center (NWC) as part of the NWC Research for Undergraduate Experiences (REU) Program in Norman, OK.
The focus of Rebecca Butterfield's research was precipitation whiplash at specific national parks. Her research was part of a larger effort to help National Parks adapt to future extreme events. Through collaboration with her three University of Oklahoma mentors, she created multiple presentations on her research - including a conference presentation and a research manuscript for publication. In addition to her research, she was able to network with many professional meteorologists and tour different parts of the NWC.
Melanie Jones' research focused on a significant freezing rain event where she worked with two mentors from the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL). She wrote a scientific paper on her research findings. In addition, she attended several workshops to help broaden her knowledge of scientific research and writing and the basics of Python coding. Outside of research, she was given the opportunity to participate in several science seminars.
Meteorology Student Awarded Hollings Scholarship
Emily Werley, originally from New Tripoli, PA, is currently in her second year at Millersville University, majoring in Meteorology with a minor in Business. She was recently selected as a NOAA Hollings Scholar, a prestigious award that supports undergraduate students in the atmospheric and oceanic sciences. Within the Earth Sciences department, she is a member of Millersville's Weather Balloon Team and the student chapter of the American Meteorological Society.
The Hollings Scholarship is awarded to approximately 130 undergraduate students for two years of full-time study and a 10-week summer internship at a NOAA facility. The Hollings Scholarship program was established in 2005 in honor of Senator Ernest F. Hollings - a champion for ocean policy and conservation - of South Carolina. Intended to bolster undergraduate training in NOAA mission sciences, as well as increase environmental literacy, the award provides recipients with hands-on, practical experience in NOAA-related research, technology, policy, management, and education. Read more about the Hollings Scholarship Program >>
observations of tornadoes by uav systems created by millersville meteorology student
Nelson Tucker, a Millersville Meteorology graduate from the Class of 2026 now pursuing his Master of Science at Texas Tech University, created and is the president of the Observations of Tornadoes by UAV Systems (OTUS) project, an effort to gather reliable measurements of the environment within and surrounding tornadoes to protect lives and property. During the summer of 2025, he led his team on multi-week field operations across nearly every state in the Great Plains. OTUS made 12 successful drone flights collecting thermodynamic and wind data inside of tornadoes. During the field campaign in June, Nelson gave a presentation on OTUS to the ASCE/SEI/AMS Wind Speed Estimation Standards Committee. He also continued working with NIST to develop a drone-mounted 3D wind sensor for tornadoes.
X-Band weather Radar installed at millersville university
Climavision, a climate-tech data pioneer, partnered with Millersville University and installed a new weather radar system on campus on June 27, 2023. The radar, placed atop Millersville University's water tower, has supplemented weather coverage in between the four closest S-Band Next Generation Weather Radars (NEXRADs), which are located near State College, Pennsylvania; Fort Dix, New Jersey; Ellendale, Delaware; and Sterling, Virginia. Because of regional topography and the nature of weather radar technology, the radar beam moves higher in the atmosphere the further it gets from the radar location. As a result, gaps in S-Band radar coverage exist across the United States. This leaves some areas, such as Lancaster County, exposed to weather phenomena that often happen in the lower atmosphere, such as snow squalls, sleet, ice, and tornadoes. The new dual-polarization, X-Band weather radar is designed specifically to fill these small gaps by providing the highest-resolution view of what's happening close to the ground. This will enable forecasters and emergency management officials to better plan, prepare, and respond to volatile weather situations.
Millersville's meteorology program has long been considered a nationally-recognized flagship program of the University. Thanks to the partnership with Climavision, students in the program now have access to data from an X-band weather surveillance radar. Faculty and students are using the radar data for teaching, research, projects, grants, scholarship activities, and manuscript and conference publications. Millersville University alum Dr. Jim Kurdzo, a radar scientist at MIT's Lincoln Labs, helped design the algorithm that determined that the Lower Susquehanna Valley is one of the top three locations in the contiguous U.S. to have a gap in low-level coverage.
"We're excited about our collaboration with Millersville University for lots of reasons," said Climavision cofounder and CEO Chris Goode. "We've not only closed a critical gap in weather surveillance but also get to support the future of weather science by providing students with an invaluable learning tool."
The partnership allows Climavision to lease the site for 20 years. The radar has been fully operational for research, teaching, and weather-detection services since October 2023. The video below highlights the partnership between Climavision and Millersville, as well as applications of and opportunities surrounding the new X-Band radar.
In September 2025, Climavision welcomed Millersville Meteorology student Josh Contrucci, Jr. as their newest intern! Josh joined the team for the fall semester and will be working with Dr. Micheal Simpson, Director of Radar Science, and Tara Goode, VP of Strategic Partnerships and Radar Operations, as well as other members of Climavision's Radar Science team.
Josh shared, "This internship experience will help me to get hands-on experience with important tools and programs that many meteorologists use. I can apply the knowledge I gain at Climavision towards my other classes and have a leg up on my assignments if we work with the same programs I did while at Climavision."
NWS Deputy director gives keynote address at annual russell l. desouza banquet
The Millersville University Student Chapter of the American Meteorological Society (MU-AMS) hosts the annual Russell L. DeSouza Banquet to celebrate the academic year and graduating seniors. In 2024, the banquet was held on Friday, April 26th, at the Country Barn Market in Lancaster County. Michelle Mainelli, the Deputy Director of the National Weather Service (NWS), gave the keynote address at the banquet. She also met with students during an informal session prior to the banquet in the University's Weather Information Center to discuss career opportunities in the NWS. Millersville Meteorology Alumnus Mary Fairbanks ('94), now the supervisory meteorologist at NOAA managing NWS verification metrics and service assessments, also spoke with students about her career and ways to prepare for the professional workforce.
Millersville meteorology celebrates 50th anniversary of first graduate
John Jensenius, the first Millersville Meteorology graduate from the Class of 1974, wrote a personal reflection on his time at the university to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his graduation.
"Scroll down Millersville's long list of meteorology graduates and there, way down at the very bottom, you'll find my name, the class of 1974. That was 50 years ago and, needless to say, a lot has changed since then. Let's see… at that time, the name was Millersville State College, there was no internet, no computers, and not even electronic calculators. We had a NAFAX facsimile machine, paper, colored pencils, and slide rules. In fact, the slide rule was one of the most important tools a meteorology student could have, as it was used to do all the calculations needed for meteorology, physics, and chemistry.
In the early 70s, meteorology classes were very small. While memories of dynamics, thermodynamics, physical, and synoptics classes have faded, I think most of my meteorology classes had three students or less. Needless to say, you didn't dare fall asleep! Synoptics classes were held around a large light table in the first floor of Lancaster House (now Nichol’s House). We spent one entire semester hand-plotting and hand-analyzing a variety of maps. In particular, I remember using our 500 mb analyses to generate maps of vorticity, vorticity advection, thermal advection, etc., by using GRAPHICAL finite difference methods. By the end of the semester, you had a full array of maps from which you could finally make a forecast.
As is typical of most meteorology students both then and now, the most exciting place was the map room. At the time, the map room was a corner closet on the first floor of Roddy Science Center. As storms approached, the NAFAX facsimile machine (our one source of real data) couldn't churn out those fuzzy charts fast enough. First came a hand-plotted surface analysis; then, the upper air charts; and finally, what we were waiting for – the progs. The first prog to come out of the fax was the "Barotropic" model – a four panel chart with heights and vorticity; then came the Primitive Equation ("PE") model with even more information; and finally, the latest and greatest forecasting tool – the Limited-area Fine Mesh ("LFM") Model. All of these computer models were run on a large mainframe computer in Suitland, Maryland. Now, of course, they could all be run on a personal computer.
At Millersville in 1974, we tracked storms solely based on surface observations. There was no radar data available. In fact, the WSR-74 was just being developed to replace the WSR-57 at National Weather Service offices. And, the WSR-74 was replaced 30 years ago by the WSR-88Ds. Now students are treated to instantaneous data from the X-band RADAR that sits atop the water tower. As for the view from space, there were no geosynchronous satellites (GOES 1 was launched in 1975). The only satellite information we received was from a polar orbiter. Twice a day (once during the day, once at night), the NAFAX machine would spit out a very fuzzy infrared image of our slice of the earth taken as the satellite passed overhead.
Like today though, we used all of the available information to create a local forecast. Our forecast 50 years ago was handwritten on a piece of paper and then posted on the bulletin board outside the map room. In addition, twice a day, I would walk my forecast up to the Millersville State Radio station (then WMSR) where I recorded the latest forecast.
So, what hasn't changed? --The excitement surrounding a good winter storm or severe weather outbreak; the valuable information provided by meteorology faculty; and the enthusiasm of meteorology students to apply recently-acquired knowledge to real-time events. Throughout my career, I've been told how lucky we are to do something we love. It's absolutely true!"
Pictured from left to right are: Drs. Todd Sikora, Greg Blumberg, Ellie Casas, Mr. John Jensenius, and Drs. Sepi Yalda and Richard Clark.
Below are comments from Dr. Richard Clark, Professor of Meteorology Emeritus, on John's storied career.
"John Jensenius was Millersville's first Meteorology graduate in 1974, receiving a BA degree in Earth Science/Meteorology. After Millersville, John earned an MS degree in Meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University in 1976. John began his professional career teaching meteorology and climatology at the State University of New York at Oneonta. From 1977 through 1994, John worked for the National Weather Service's (NWS) Techniques Development Laboratory (TDL) (now Meteorological Development Laboratory) where he developed statistical forecast products used by meteorologists nationwide. In addition to his normal job responsibilities at TDL, John initiated efforts that eventually led to the development of the BUFKIT program. From 1995 until his retirement in 2019, John served as the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the NWS office in Gray, Maine. While there, John initiated a nationwide lightning safety campaign in 2001 and served as NOAA's media specialist on lightning safety. Since John's retirement, he has led the National Lightning Safety Council and continues to be a national leader on lightning safety. During his career, John received numerous awards including the National Weather Association's Public Education Award and Department of Commerce Bronze and Silver Medals."
Faculty & students assist achd in validation of wind/temperature measurements
On October 4-5, three meteorology students from Millersville University assisted the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) with a research initiative involving Sound Detection and Ranging (SODAR) observations and Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) retrievals with rawinsonde measurements in Clairton, Pennsylvania. Under the direction of faculty members Dr. Greg Blumberg and Dr. Richard Clark, as well as Weather Center Director Kyle Elliott, the students launched weather balloons to validate the on-site SODAR measurement, a requirement of the EPA. A radiosonde, or instrument used to transmit pressure, temperature, and relative humidity measurements at various levels of the atmosphere, was attached to each balloon. When a radiosonde is tracked so that wind speed and direction measurements are also provided, it is called a rawinsonde observation. The data collected was used to better understand the changes in the diurnal transition of the planetary boundary layer in the Monongahela Valley and its impact on the transport of pollutants.
Each year since 2018, Millersville faculty and students have conducted a series of rawinsonde launches over the course of 2-3 days for the purpose of validating the wind and virtual temperatures measurements obtained by the ACHD using a Scintec Acoustic SODAR system with a RASS extension.
commemorating joe calhoun's legendary career
On January 18, 2024, Millersville Meteorology faculty, students, and alumni gathered in the Weather Information Center to celebrate Joe Calhoun's retirement and commemorate his 36-year tenure as Chief Meteorologist of the WGAL News 8 Storm Team. Calhoun ended his memorable and successful career at WGAL News 8 on January 19, 2024, and thus did some of his final broadcasts the prior evening at Millersville. Calhoun's track record in accurate and reliable forecasting has been unmatched, and south-central Pennsylvania residents got to hear him "tell a story" about the weather for over three decades.
Calhoun graduated from Penn State University in 1981 with his bachelor's degree in meteorology. His career began at Freese-Notis Weather in Des Moines, Iowa. Thereafter, he joined Hearst Television's KETV in Omaha, Nebraska, as the morning meteorologist. In 1987, Calhoun returned to his home state of Pennsylvania and joined WGAL News 8 in 1987.
In addition to his on-air career, Calhoun taught a course in broadcast meteorology at Millersville University for more than two decades. His mentorship kick-started the careers of many then-student meteorologists, including a few members of the WGAL News 8 Storm Team. Christine Ferreira, a 2004 graduate of Millersville's Meteorology program, has been promoted to Chief Meteorologist at WGAL News 8 in Calhoun's stead.
"When I look back on my career, I'm most proud of the team I've built here at WGAL 8 and the students and young broadcasters whom I've impacted along the way. Seeing them blossom into stellar meteorologists has been a wonderful experience," Calhoun said.
Millersville Meteorology and the Earth Sciences Department would like to personally congratulate Calhoun on his retirement, thank him for his years of service to the University, and wish him all the best!
Millersville Meteorology students deploy aerokats for pbl research
Millersville Meteorology students in Dr. Greg Blumberg's Boundary Layers & Turbulence class (ESCI 448) deployed the first small-scale, multi-kite network to characterize the low-level Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) weather conditions. The AEROKATS systems used is National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) technology provided by the AEROKATS and ROVER Education Network (AREN) Science Activation Team.
OUTREACH AT Burrowes Elementary SCHOOL
On November 9, 2023, seven Millersville Meteorology students gave an interactive presentation on weather and climate at Burrowes Elementary School in Lancaster, PA. They educated the 3rd-grade class on topics such as the water cycle, El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), winter weather patterns, balloon launches, thunderstorms, and storm chasing protocols. Following the presentation, the students fielded questions from the 3rd-graders and their teachers. Millersville Meteorology is grateful to have participated in this incredible outreach opportunity!