Ball State students go storm chasing
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – It’s that time of year again.
Ball State meteorology student James Foster and his friends are hitting the road for some storm chasing.
“Man. It’s really exciting,” Foster said. “We love what we do. We’re very avid and very enthusiastic about weather.”
They’re so enthusiastic that one of Foster’s friends, James Longwith, runs his own forecasting company. He’s captured severe storms across Indiana and Illinois, including some tornados.
“It’s exhilarating but you’re always very worried about what could happen. You’re trying to make sure you’re safe while you’re out there doing it. You can’t let your excitement overcome your safety,” Longwith said.
Longwith streams the chase live on his website, bowechochasers.com. A weather station and console tell him the wind speed, direction and temperature. The team uses a radar on a laptop to read the storm and stay out of harm’s way.
The group was heading south Tuesday, toward Columbus and Seymour.
“Our number one goal is to protect life and property,” Longwith said.
“Safety is first. In our storm chase meetings, we talk about safety the most,” Foster said.
Foster and his friends are also members of the Ball State storm chase team. He said this won’t be the last time they hit the road this spring.
“Spring is definitely the time when you’ll see it, and we definitely love going out,” he said.
The storm chasers said anyone who chases storms should first make sure they know how to interpret a radar, so they can follow the storm and stay out of danger.