Students will have a storm of fun at the seventh annual Ohio State Severe Weather Symposium from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow at the Fawcett Center.
The student-organized symposium is sponsored by the Meterology Club and is free and open to the public. The event gives students, faculty and professionals a chance to listen to talks focusing on various aspects of Ohio weather, ranging from snow to tornados.
“It’s a learning experience because (the club brings) in people who are experts in various fields of severe weather, ” said Jay Hogbood, associate professor of geography and adviser to the Meteorology Club.
“It combines the educational, the professional and sort of the fun aspects of weather,” Hogbood said.
E. Phillip Krider, a professor from the University of Arizona, will be talking about lightning. Dan McCarthy, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., will be speaking about the Nov. 14 tornado outbreak that caused $40 million of damage in Ohio and Indiana.
This will be McCarthy’s fifth time attending the symposium. He has studied several tornado outbreaks from the past 50 years, including the major outbreak of 1974.
“It is thoroughly enjoyable to spend a day talking about severe and adverse weather, unique and pertinent to Ohio,” he said.
Those attending the symposium tend to feel the same way. Jonathan Fairman, a junior in geography, attended the symposium last year and will do so again Friday.
“I went partially because of a class requirement and partially because I wanted to,” he said. “I got to see Dan McCarthy talk, and I really enjoyed it because I was able to go in, and he was able to talk about everything about the storms.”
Since its start in 1997, the symposium is usually attended by about 150 students, professors, meteorologists, visitors from various other industries and the public. This will be the first year it is hosted at the Fawcett Center.
