Days 1-4

Howard University

Dorm Flooding

Dorm Flooding

                                                                   Sunday through Wednesday
Leaders
Director of the N.O.A.A.Center for Atmospheric Sciences- Vernon Morris, Ph.D.

Director of N.C.A.S. CAREERS Weather Camp- Michael Mogil, MS

Sunday- 

Today was the first day of the 2012 Howard University CAREERS Weather Camp in Washington D.C. We first started off with some delicious pizza and beverage at Crandall Lounge in Howard. Once that was finished, we were introduced to the counselors and the “bosses” of the camp, which would be Vernon Morris, PhD and Mike Mogil, M.S. The ratio, I have come to find out, is 9 adults to 12 students. WOW!! After we were introduced to the adults, we were then paired off and we were given about 5-7 minutes to learn everything we could about our partner. Once the time was up, we were then asked to introduce our partner to the rest of the campers and any other people who were in the room, such as parents or friends. After this we did an impromptu, which is where each person, in this case, all the campers, picked a phrase or word out of a hat, and then had to talk thirty seconds, at least, about or close to the topic. Once this was over, we were given research topics for our research project, in which we will present in two weeks. Once that was over, we had free time until about 5:00, and then dinner. Then we played some “get to know you” games such as: never have I ever, and two truths and a lie. I saved the best part for last though. While we were eating dinner, we all heard a noise that only weather fanatics would know. It was the NOAA EAS system tone. It was funny to see us all turn our heads at the same time to hear where it was coming from, and to see our simultaneous awe inspired reaction when we heard thunder. 

Monday-

This day was a good day in that I got to get a good taste in what the weather camp would be like. Breakfast is at about 8 am and then we went to the Howard Research Building to have our class. In class this day, we did an experiment called "Cloud in a Bottle". Mr. Mike Mogil placed a match in a soda bottle with a little water in it. Then he squeezed the large soda bottle, and a cloud formed. Clouds form due to water particles attaching to some type of other particle, such as dust or ice. This is why he placed a match in the bottle, to give the water particles something to attach to, when he squeezed the bottle. We also learned how anvils were made, and we learned, algebraically, how to find the conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit. 

Tuesday- 

On Tuesday, once we got to class, we conducted an experiment using thermometers, a small deep cap, and water. Water was poured into the small cap, and then a thermometer was placed in the middle, then it was frozen. At least I think that's how they did it. We got the materials after they were already put together. The purpose of the experiment was to, for a minute, for about 20 minutes, hold the cap in your hand. In doing this, your goal was to get the thermometer to rise. After about sixteen minutes, we learned that the ice absorbed most  of the energy, keeping the thermometer from rising much, if at all. After about a few minutes, when the ice melted, the thermometer rose quite rapidly.  We also learned how anvils were formed this day. Another thing we did was guess a city's climate. We did this by receiving temperature information and precipitation information for a city. The city name was replaced with a letter so we would have to guess. For example, my city was City K and J. At the end of the day, things got quite interesting. Some dorms started flooding! The heavy downpours caused the roof to leak through at least floors four and three. There was also water going down the stairwell like a river. Two campers in one of the flooded rooms had to move down the hall. Just before, a rotating wall cloud, which could but did not produce a tornado, appeared. A wall cloud is a low hanging cloud out of a thunderstorm. What an end to the day!

Wednesday-

On Wednesday, my fellow campers and I went to the National Center for Environmental Prediction, which is in Camp Springs, Maryland. I will not name all of the departments there, but here are some: The Aviation Weather Center, The Climate Prediction Center, and the Hydro-meteorological Prediction Center. It was very interesting to see the different monitors in the building. We also got to listen to a presentation given by a Hurricane Hunter for N.O.A.A. (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). After we got back and had lunch, we did map analysis, which was to separate temperature zones on the map. 

**RESEARCH PROJECT**

 At the beginning of camp, we were given a research topic to work on. Mine was to convince  the United States to have and underground water pipeline system in the U.S. Research is worked on every day after the formal class at the Howard University Media Center.