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With the installation of the Climavision weather radar system in June 2023, Millersville University’s meteorology program reinforced its status as an important resource in weather forecasting. Now, with the introduction of the local radar system, the University’s already nationally recognized meteorology program continues to enhance and improve student learning and research opportunities. As the first X-band weather surveillance radar in the Lower Susquehanna Valley, the Climavision radar fills in the gaps not covered by the closest National Weather Service radar systems, providing much-needed radar data for the region.
Professor of meteorology and director of the Center for Disaster Research and Education Dr. Sepi Yalda notes that students currently taking the Radar Meteorology course have access to the data on a regular basis and at any time. “The students are examining the data as we are learning about radar products, radar signatures specific to different types of events, and image interpretation,” she says. “They are using it to monitor (weather) systems, study specific features and utilize the data to better understand the concepts and enhance their forecasting skills while participating in the Campus Weather Service.”
Yalda adds, “Part of the course requirement is a case study of a meteorological event. Students often choose to focus on local, regional and recent events, and the radar provides an opportunity for students to use the data for their case study analysis in addition to accessing other Climavision X-band radars that are part of the Climavision network for studying different events across the country.”
Jasper de Koning, a senior meteorology student originally from Zeist, the Netherlands, is a student intern with Climavision. He came to Millersville University to pursue both his interests in meteorology and tennis. “Millersville’s meteorology program is recognized nationally, and the tennis team suits me very well, so I definitely think I made the right decision,” he says.
As an intern, de Koning serves as a liaison between the meteorology students and Climavision, retrieving data for Yalda’s Radar Meteorology students and troubleshooting any issues that may arise with data availability, access, visualization and analysis using the radar tool called GR2Analyst. However, de Koning notes that he can now primarily focus on helping students, since most of the technical bugs were solved in the preliminary stages of accessing the data. He’s been able to help other students with retrieving the data, and he helped students with their end-of-semester projects.
“In this program, the Millersville meteorology students have been able to capture various events, such as the snowstorms we experienced in January and February, the snow squalls that struck the region in February and March, and the recent hailstorm that impacted Millersville on April 4,” de Koning explains. “The benefit of the Climavision radar is that surrounding radars might not be able to fully capture those events, especially some of the more localized snow events, due to their distance from Millersville.”
de Koning says that this data has been incredibly beneficial for the students and the surrounding Millersville community, especially because it fills in the “radar gap” in the area. “This means that we are able to see potentially dangerous weather much earlier and easier in this particular region, ultimately improving the safety of the entire community around Millersville University,” he explains.
Additionally, Yalda notes that this is the perfect example of real-world experience that students can gain at Millersville to help them in the future. “These types of hands-on and authentic experiences with radar data, whether in the context of analysis for weather prediction or case study and research projects, prepare students very well for careers in the private sector, National Weather Service and broadcast meteorology,” she explains.
“I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to be the first intern at the University for Climavision,” de Koning says. “I hope that with my help, the partnership between Millersville University and Climavision can be expanded for the foreseeable future.”
After graduating, de Koning plans to pursue graduate school for meteorology, whether here in the United States or back in the Netherlands. After that, he hopes to land a job in weather forecasting, which has been his dream since he was 10 years old.
