Storm chasing has been a growing trend for years now. Dan Goff a 4th year student at Virginia Tech who is a veteran chaser says, “To actually go storm chasing in the Midwest is something I've dreamed about for a long time."
And to say Virginia Tech has been in the thick of it, may be an understatement.
“This past year, in some storms we actually had a lot of hail and stuff like that falling and then we had a tornado drop down really close to us," Dave Carroll a meteorology instructor was Tech explains.
“We were stuck in traffic in Iowa City and there was a lightning strike about 20 yards behind us. The other driver said he could actually feel the heat from the lightning strike," Goff added.
And now the College of Natural Resources and Environment is taking this interest a step further.
Not only has Hokie storm chasing been a huge success at Virginia Tech but, they've also generated a lot of interest with their new meteorology major. Their original goal was to have 80 students in the program by the end of the first four years. At this point, they already have 40 to 50 prospective students.
Goff says, “I came to Virginia Tech knowing this is what I wanted to do, hoping the program would be here by the time I was ready to graduate. The timing couldn't be more perfect."
Goff will not only be one of the first to graduate with a degree in meteorology from Tech but also one of the first to earn this degree in the Commonwealth. Students can start enrolling in the first meteorology major in Virginia as early as January 2012.
Carroll explains, "Well, I feel really lucky because it’s really interesting being on the ground floor on something totally new."
And for prospective students, the university will be holding its annual open house Saturday November 12th.
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