The Virginia Tech Meteorology Club has recently become a chapter of the National Weather Association and the American Meteorological Society. Officially founded in fall 2011, the club was designed to spread the word about the meteorology major throughout the university, as well as to help both current and incoming students in the new major.

The club has since expanded from its eight founding members and its humble beginnings, and now boasts roughly 25 members. “We would get together over dinner and drinks just to talk about our goals, classes, and concentrations that would be ideal within the department and new major,” said Rebecca Vizzi. “We really wanted to help make the new major a success.”

Once the meteorology major became official in January 2012, the club shifted its attention toward helping its members gain experience in the field. The group also holds monthly meetings, where guest speakers from the National Weather Service, the Roanoke Times, and the Virginia Emergency Management Office stop by to give members career advice. “The guest speakers are a great resource for students to gain knowledge in what types of occupations and employment opportunities might be out there for students interested in pursuing meteorology,” said Kathryn Prociv.

Service is another important element for the club. Members participated in this year’s Big Event, and its Relay for Life team raised over $2,500. “We also sent a representative to the aeronautical engineering department’s Atmospheric Teaching Experiment launch, contributing atmospheric science information to the program’s balloon launch and presentation to elementary school students,” Dan Goff added.

The club has recently become involved with WUVT-FM, Virginia Tech’s student-run radio station, allowing members to get experience both forecasting and broadcasting weather for the New River Valley community. “Forecasting for WUVT has been very helpful in terms of both forecasting and media dissemination,” said Aaron Davis. “You have to get your point across in a limited time, so you have to focus on the big picture in terms of weather players.”

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