top of page

Meteorology

Numerical Simulations of

Cold Fronts Over the Appalachian Piedmont during MU-PAST 

By Rhiannon Fleming & Kyle Johnson

Rhiannon Fleming is a senior Meteorology major with a Heliophysics/Space Weather and Mathematics minor. As her final project at Millersville, she and her co-lead, Abigayle Gant, wanted to develop a  Department-wide research opportunity so that students could still research despite a global pandemic.  Through Dr. Sepi Yalda, Rhiannon and her co-leads worked hard to make sure this research was safe. She is especially passionate about teaching the underclassmen to work with the balloon and radiosondes and providing a fun entry into research. This study is the modeling part of the MU-PAST campaign, where we use

data and compare it to model runs generated by our modeling software. Rhiannon anticipates that she will further her understanding of numerical modeling in an effort to help her in her future career. After she graduates, Rhiannon will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Solar Physics.

Fleming photo.jpeg

Kyle Johnson is a third-year student at Millersville and is pursuing a major in Meteorology and a minor in Environmental Hazards and Emergency Management.  He became involved with the MU-PAST research project over the 2020/2021 winter break and assisted in collecting data in both the climatological study and the field campaign phases of the project, where he served as a driver for one of the teams. Kyle gained an interest in meteorological modeling after taking a course focusing on the topic at Millersville and has continued his involvement with MU-PAST  into the numerical simulation phase of the project. One of

his most memorable experiences with the project so far has been attending a class from the back of his car via Zoom while in the field. After graduating from Millersville, Kyle plans to attend grad school to pursue his interest in tropical meteorology, and specifically the roles that modeling and forecasting play in improving preparation and response efforts to tropical cyclones.

Johnson photo.jpeg

Author's Note:

The purpose of this part of MU-PAST is to engage our modeling system and better our understanding of meteorological modeling. Through this, both authors intend on pursuing research that is becoming heavily focused on computer programing and models. 

​

Keywords:  Modelling, Artic Fronts, Simulations, Forecasting

bottom of page