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CMU taking mobile weather observations by S.T.O.R.M.

The university is the only location in Michigan to offer a meteorology major.

MT PLEASANT, Mich — Assistant Professor of Meteorology, Jason Keeler has heard it all: "We've been asked if we're looking for Sasquatch... a lot of people think that we're from Google... we've also been asked if we're those wack jobs that try to drive into tornadoes."

The silver SUV is impressive. It features an anemometer, GPS, temperature and humidity sensors mounted prominently above the windshield with a large, crimson C plastered on the doors.

The CMU STORM program is brand new to the university this year:

Student

Training for

Observational

Research in

Meteorology

Keeler explains the importance of this program; "There's no better way to get students involved in learning about the weather than to actually go out and see it and be able to look at a storm and watch data that we're sampling in real time."

He expects this will continue to help CMU graduates stand out from the crowd when it comes time to enter the workforce. Various research projects have already begun and the students expect to present some of their findings at the American Meteorological Society's annual meeting in January.

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