DOW comes to campus

Whether you're an atmospheric science major or just love extreme weather, the Doppler on Wheels (DOW) is at Lyndon State College.

One of three DOW trucks made its way to the LSC campus on Jan. 31, and will be on campus until Feb 18.

"The data and information we'll be able to study and analyze from its time being here will help us as a department to further what we've already been taught and have a more applied, real-world approach to data research,"  said senior meteorology major Garrett Combs.

 The DOW trucks were created by Joshua Wurman, and are maintained by The Center for Severe Weather Research and funded by the Nation Science Foundation.

The DOW trucks are equipped with mobile radar that can record data, distinguish between various types of precipitation (liquid or frozen), and can also tell the difference between dry and wet snow. DOW trucks have been used to observe severe weather such as tornadoes and hurricanes at

close range.

Lyndon State students participating in the VORTEX2 tornado study last year got experience with the DOW when they used it to aid them in observing tornadoes and recording their data. This year atmospheric sciences professor Nolan Atkins' Remote Sensing class will be working with the DOW. Over a three-week course they will be learning how to work with a mobile radar and record winter storm data.