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July 14, 2008
The Oklahoma Climatological Survey and the Oklahoma Mesonet will welcome 42 K-12 teachers to the EarthStorm Weather Workshop in Norman, OK on July 15-18, 2008. The EarthStorm Workshop will be held at the National Weather Center (NWC). Teachers will enjoy four days touring weather facilities and presentations from scientists and University of Oklahoma students. New teachers will begin learning basic meteorology concepts and use Oklahoma Mesonet data in classroom activities. Veteran EarthStorm teachers will join the us the second day.
Days 2-4 will cover thunderstorms from all sides. Speakers will explain weather ingredients that lead to severe events, explain storm structure and development and show video from actual storms. A case study will look back at the Greensburg, KS EF-5 tornado from 2007. Staff from the Norman National Weather Service Forecast Office will answer questions during an evening balloon launch. Afterwards, the teachers will view the Oklahoma Mesonet tower located in the parking lot (This tower is used for tour groups and is not part of the official data records of the Oklahoma Mesonet.).
Teachers will have the opportunity to learn about current and future radar technologies. They will visit the Phased Array Radar on north campus and get up close with a SMART-R radar (the ones mounted on the back of a truck). We will end our discussions on severe weather by looking back at the Union City Tornado of 1973 and Tropical Storm Erin from 2007.
Staff from the National Weather Center partner agencies and University of Oklahoma students will form two panels to discuss their high school, college and/or work experiences. The teachers will be able to ask questions about the skills need to earn a degree and how they can better help prepare their students for college.
We hope the teachers leave with an eagerness to share what they learned with their students and colleagues.
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