A group of students from Ball State University chased more than a dozen storm systems across 10 states during the past two weeks.
The trip, which included more than 7,000 miles of driving, was part of a summer geography course offered on campus.
The Great Plains was chosen as the destination because of its frequent, extreme storms and because of the terrain.
Despite the Great Plains' reputation as Tornado Alley, senior meteorology major Heather Osbon, who went on the trip, said the group's goal of tracking a tornado didn't happen this year.
"The weather patterns were sunny and in the 80's," she said. "It was perfect for a normal family, but for us it was terrible."
However, assistant professor Dave Call said they were able to track six supercell storms, which are long-lasting and severe, and in one case, produced grapefruit-sized hail.
"This year's group was a lot more aggressive chasing storms," he said. The students had fewer opportunities this year and worked harder not to miss any chances, he added.
Osbon said tracking storms required a lot of sporadic traveling, to states including South Dakota, Colorado and Texas. The group's day would begin around 9 a.m. when they checked the radar, include days of driving up to 600 miles and end in a hotel around 9 p.m., Call said. In fact, he said, a main difference between this year's trip and last year's was the amount of driving. Last year's group stayed mostly in Kansas and was able to see a tornado by the fourth day of the trip, Call said.
Senior trip member Korey Klein said while it was disappointing not to see a tornado, he gained experience in forecasting and making changes to plans "on the fly."
"Meteorology isn't as easy as it seems," he said. "We all take it pretty seriously."
Osbon agreed that the trip was exciting because it gave her the chance to be surrounded by people who share the same interest as her.
She said one storm system led the team to a country road where hundreds of chasers had gathered.
"It was cool seeing other people who shared my passion for meteorology," she said.
Three students from Indiana University, as well as another Ball State professor, also went on the trip.
Klein said the calm weather patterns during the first half of the trip gave the group the chance to sightsee. They visited the Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Call said.
Call said his goal for the class, which is open to all students, was to give them a better understanding of storm predicting and to illustrate the complexity of weather patterns.
"I think the trip was a great success," he said. "The students made the most of every opportunity they could."
Osbon said the unexpected weather taught her not to always rely on patterns, models and radar to predict storms.
"People would say it was a waste just because we didn't see a tornado," she said. "But I've learned so much from the trip. It's something you can't learn from sitting in a class reading a textbook."
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