(College Station)—School field trips: great ways to observe wildlife, smell the flowers, soak up some sun and maybe even dodge hail, lightning and a tornado or two.
Twisting around a twister is the goal of the Texas A&M Mobile Severe Storms Data Acquisition Team, known as TAMMSSDA for short, and it's the only student storm-chasing team in Texas and believed to be one of only two nationally.
The group numbers 35 to 40 students and when skies get black and threatening and weather sirens start blaring, the team is often long gone by then—they've headed into their own cars to chase nature's nastiest weather.
"The thrill of the chase is what is so exciting," said Kaycee Frederick, the team's leader this year, and she should know. The graduate student has been a member of the team for several years and she comes to Texas A&M from her home in Miller, S.D., which has some great storms on the Great Plains.
"We head out in our own vehicles to areas we think are sure-fire areas that will have severe storms, with tornadoes likely," Frederick said. "We hope to see a tornado, but that is not often the case. But we always seem to learn something on every trip we make."
Now in its eighth year, the TAMMSSDA team members have covered the Southwest searching for severe weather. They are capable of going all over Tornado Alley, which extends from Texas to the Dakotas, but most often they stay in Texas, where storm chasing sorties can still total 600 miles round trip.
Last year, some team members saw nine tornadoes in one weekend. That hasn't been the case this year, with spring weather so far being rather sedate.
Previous team members have said the chances of seeing a tornado during a chase are only about 1 in 10—not good odds. But the odds of seeing severe weather are much higher.
"When we go out, we often see bad weather," Frederick says. "It can get really bad at times. We may not see a tornado, but you can still learn a lot from being there in person. It's a lot different than hearing a lecture about weather in the classroom."
A record-setting day occurred on May 4, 2003, when the team reported an F-4 tornado— only an F-5 is stronger—near Leavenworth, Kan., and relayed their findings to the National Weather Service. More than 90 tornadoes were reported that weekend in the area.
All team members are required to complete a safety training course about the hazards of severe storm environments. They are self-funded, paying for their own gas and meals.
The team documents every storm it chases and takes along plenty of cameras and video equipment. Several years ago, the chasers shot footage of heavy storms that pounded the Dallas-Fort Worth area and it was used by several North Texas TV stations.
"We try to forecast three or four days in advance when severe weather might hit, but so far there have been no significant storms to track," adds Frederick.
"So we haven't been on a chase yet. But when the time comes, we'll be ready. We're all itching to go."