catoctin wx

I would think so. The number of buildings that can withstand 210 mph winds is likely pretty small, so the likelyhood of them actually getting hit is tiny. So even if the winds were that high, there is no way of being able to prove it

I don't think he was saying that there are no structures that can withstand those wind speeds. He's saying that if there are none in the path of the tornado, then they have no basis to say that the extreme wind speeds were present.

ok, thanks Josh. I didn't read back through much of the thread, but I thought it might be something like this. It would be nice to get clarification from the NWS on this topic since the numbers are being thrown around in the media. Part of my job is to determine the worse case meteorological conditions possible at given sites around the country. Having wind speeds approaching 250 mph would be a special case for sure.

I have been reading some articles that make statements about the wind speeds approaching 250 mph in this tornado. for example: I'm sure it's been covered in this thread and others, but does anybody have a link to a NWS survey that gives wind speeds this high? I've seen the Greg Forbes post about it, but I didn't see a link to an official survey. All I can find is winds in excess of 200 mph on the NWS site. thanks

seconded. Im sure many of my meteorology friends who are not on the board would be interested in reading the description....with JoMo's permission of course

Glad that you are ok JoMo. The whole board was worried about you. Excellent write up of your experiences this week and how it has been on the ground. Sorry that this had to happen to such good people in Joplin

yeah, I was just hoping for some good news. I'm sure he has plenty of other things to be doing right now

I hate to ask, but any word on JoMo yet?

I'm sure there are people on this board more qualified to speak on the subject than I am, but listening to the recording, my impression is that the first blast was likely the leading edge (gust front, if you will). You can then hear what sounds like hail hitting the building followed by the actual tornado. Even though it was a monster storm, there is no way (IMO) that it was directly over them and it had an eye of any kind. The lull was likely just the time between the gust front and the tornado hitting the building.

I was thinking that a weekday would have been worse. Considering how many schools were completely destroyed, I can't imagine how bad it would have been if they were filled with students

Pretty amazing double rainbow that formed after the storm in Joplin

just from watching the video's, it looked (to my untrained eye) comparable to the Tuscaloosa tornado

seconded. Although I have a masters degree, I would still be making plenty as Met at GS-13 without it. It all depends on the jobs available and a bit of luck finding them

I didn't minor in anything, so I can't really say, but my friends who did it seemed to work out for them. I only said minoring, because double majoring with meteorology as a major would be nearly impossible to get done in 4 years. Minoring in a related science shows a variable skillset that may be of use to some employers. It can also help you get into a grad school depending on what you want to do. A friend of mine majored in Met and minored in Political Science so that he could go to grad school and enventually get a job in the science policy world. without the minor, it probably wouldn't have worked out. a minor in a related field can only help you get employed, I don't see how it could hurt

I would also add that going to grad school (which most get paid to do) and boning up on your programming skills is a great way to go if available. It also allows you to choose a specific direction or area that you can focus on (radar, tropical, severe, etc)

If you love your job, you will never work a day in your life. I would recommend (and reiterate what many many others have said in this thread) that you diversify your degree. If you major in metereorology, see if you can minor in math, or computor science, or oceanography, or anything else. It will be hard, but worth it

When I was at Millersville there wasn't a forecasting class (don't see one listed in the couse list). I don't forecast for a living now, but I was involved with the campus weather service for 8 semesters. It involved map discussions and short and medium range forecasting for 3 shifts each day. we also gained a little forecasting experience through our meso class

when there is a will there is a way man. I did horrible in my college math courses, just scraping through on the curve or a decent grade on the final. I eventually failed calc 3 and retook it over the summer and got a C+. I took calc 1 in the spring semester my freshman year and got a C. That summer I went home and took it at a community college, not for a better grade, but to relearn the material so that I could do better in calc 2. I also found tutors and a great study group to work with. It can be done, just don't get discouraged

I guess I am the exception to this. I always liked the weather, but I never considered it a career option until my junior year of HS. Until I took a 1/2 year course on it, I was planning on going into early childhood education

I should have also mentioned that I applied to SUNY Albany, Wisconsin, and NC State and I didn't get into any of them.

agree completely on the first paragraph. The classes that were rehashing some of the older stuff, just in more detail (dynamics, thermo, synoptic, etc) were pretty easy. The ones that were totally new (Satellite and Remote Sensing, 2 tough radiation courses) were a struggle. I don't mind posting my GPA for both. Admittedly I did not do that well in undergrad. I got my ass severly kicked by the math department. I ended up with a 2.81 total GPA and something a bit higher for my in-major GPA (can't seem to pull that one up online). I got into grad school not on my grades, but on my networking skills. Some friends set me up with some meetings for grad school advisors at an AMS meeting and I was able to impress one enough in person to accept me into the program. I finished my grad school with a 3.69 GPA.

in my experience, the classes just go deeper into the material, but by then you have such a good grasp on the topics that it really isn't that new. The material is harder than undergrad, but because you have seen most of it already, you are able to do better. Also, many undergrad classes (especially in the first 2 years) are weed-out courses. In grad school the profs are really good about helping you out and making sure that you succeed.

graduate courses are a joke compared to what you are put through in an undergraduate curriculum. Also, as you know, the calc courses offered by the math department is much different then the actual applied equations of an advanced level met course. Of course the theory is the same, but when it is actually applied to something that makes physical sense (as opposed to just solving problems), it is much easier. FWIW, i sucked horribly in my undergraduate math classes, but was able to maintain decent grades in my met courses. Went on for my masters and my GPA went up by a full point.