Purdue EAPS SPOTTR
@eaps-spottr.bsky.social
Students of Purdue Observing Tornadic Thunderstorms for Research (SPOTTR): Severe Storms Field Work course. This account disseminates announcements related to the course and its activities, in near real-time from the field.
We want to take a minute or two, and give much respect to the anonymous donor who helped make #SPOTTR 2025 a fantastic experience for all our participants! Read about the difference their support made in this year’s class:
Forecast to field: Purdue class turns storms into a living laboratory - Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences - Purdue University
The Students of Purdue Observing Tornadic Thunderstorms for Research (SPOTTR) course, officially listed as EAPS 43500: Severe Storms Field Work, takes students beyond the classroom and into the Great ...
www.eaps.purdue.edu
September 11, 2025 at 12:22 PM
We want to take a minute or two, and give much respect to the anonymous donor who helped make #SPOTTR 2025 a fantastic experience for all our participants! Read about the difference their support made in this year’s class:
Our department, Purdue EAPS, is releasing a series of video interviews with #SPOTTR students through their Superheroes of Science channel! The first video features Prof. Tanamachi @tornatrix.bsky.social describing SPOTTR's origins and ethos.
What's it like to take a Severe Storms Field Work Class?
YouTube video by Superheroes of Science
www.youtube.com
July 29, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Our department, Purdue EAPS, is releasing a series of video interviews with #SPOTTR students through their Superheroes of Science channel! The first video features Prof. Tanamachi @tornatrix.bsky.social describing SPOTTR's origins and ethos.
Reposted by Purdue EAPS SPOTTR
I haven’t processed that such an amazing experience is already over 💛🖤
Paige’s SPOTTR review coming soon…
Paige’s SPOTTR review coming soon…
#SPOTTR 2025 wrapped up its trip on Saturday!
Miles driven: 3,442.
Thanks to @paige-ashlyn-h.bsky.social for the wonderful graphic of our trip!
Miles driven: 3,442.
Thanks to @paige-ashlyn-h.bsky.social for the wonderful graphic of our trip!
July 13, 2025 at 12:51 AM
I haven’t processed that such an amazing experience is already over 💛🖤
Paige’s SPOTTR review coming soon…
Paige’s SPOTTR review coming soon…
Reposted by Purdue EAPS SPOTTR
Some highlights from Purdue’s SPOTTR course :) special thanks to @tornatrix.bsky.social and @eaps-spottr.bsky.social for an amazing week on the plains ☺️
July 12, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Some highlights from Purdue’s SPOTTR course :) special thanks to @tornatrix.bsky.social and @eaps-spottr.bsky.social for an amazing week on the plains ☺️
#SPOTTR 2025 wrapped up its trip on Saturday!
Miles driven: 3,442.
Thanks to @paige-ashlyn-h.bsky.social for the wonderful graphic of our trip!
Miles driven: 3,442.
Thanks to @paige-ashlyn-h.bsky.social for the wonderful graphic of our trip!
July 8, 2025 at 7:14 PM
#SPOTTR 2025 wrapped up its trip on Saturday!
Miles driven: 3,442.
Thanks to @paige-ashlyn-h.bsky.social for the wonderful graphic of our trip!
Miles driven: 3,442.
Thanks to @paige-ashlyn-h.bsky.social for the wonderful graphic of our trip!
SPOTTR has returned to West Lafayette!
Here's a video from our last chasing day (July 4) between Bismark and Fargo, ND. Thunderstorm outflow provided a rather ominous sight in our rear view mirrors with a shelf cloud and blowing dust.
Here's a video from our last chasing day (July 4) between Bismark and Fargo, ND. Thunderstorm outflow provided a rather ominous sight in our rear view mirrors with a shelf cloud and blowing dust.
July 6, 2025 at 5:58 PM
SPOTTR has returned to West Lafayette!
Here's a video from our last chasing day (July 4) between Bismark and Fargo, ND. Thunderstorm outflow provided a rather ominous sight in our rear view mirrors with a shelf cloud and blowing dust.
Here's a video from our last chasing day (July 4) between Bismark and Fargo, ND. Thunderstorm outflow provided a rather ominous sight in our rear view mirrors with a shelf cloud and blowing dust.
After Devils Tower, we worked our way up to Buffalo, SD, where we launched a sonde that revealed multiple small inversions and rather underwhelming 0-6 km bulk shear (19 kts). Ended the day with a fat wall cloud near Belfield, ND. #SPOTTR
July 4, 2025 at 4:45 AM
After Devils Tower, we worked our way up to Buffalo, SD, where we launched a sonde that revealed multiple small inversions and rather underwhelming 0-6 km bulk shear (19 kts). Ended the day with a fat wall cloud near Belfield, ND. #SPOTTR
Our group in front of a nonsevere storm near Spotted Horse, WY yesterday!
July 3, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Our group in front of a nonsevere storm near Spotted Horse, WY yesterday!
Impressive lightning show on our drive back from dinner to the hotel in Wyoming.
July 3, 2025 at 5:27 AM
Impressive lightning show on our drive back from dinner to the hotel in Wyoming.
July 2, 2025: We drove from Nebraska through South Dakota to Gillette, Wyoming. Students enjoyed a slow-moving, photogenic storm northwest of Gillette. Driving west in the evening, we saw the sunset with storms over the mountains and on either side of the highway.
July 3, 2025 at 4:49 AM
July 2, 2025: We drove from Nebraska through South Dakota to Gillette, Wyoming. Students enjoyed a slow-moving, photogenic storm northwest of Gillette. Driving west in the evening, we saw the sunset with storms over the mountains and on either side of the highway.
Driving to Alliance, Nebraska on July 1.
July 2, 2025 at 4:54 AM
Driving to Alliance, Nebraska on July 1.
Storms started to get much more photogenic day 3 of the chase!
July 2, 2025 at 4:51 AM
Storms started to get much more photogenic day 3 of the chase!
#SPOTTR 2025, Day 2: hodographs were a bit longer today in NW MO and NE KS than yesterday, allowing us to target two storm clusters in those respective areas. The latter produced a funnel cloud near Centralia, KS, that we arrived too late to see. On to Nebraska tomorrow!
July 1, 2025 at 3:22 AM
#SPOTTR 2025, Day 2: hodographs were a bit longer today in NW MO and NE KS than yesterday, allowing us to target two storm clusters in those respective areas. The latter produced a funnel cloud near Centralia, KS, that we arrived too late to see. On to Nebraska tomorrow!
We took a sounding near Richmond, MO in advance of some multicell clusters. The profile contained multiple cloud layers and was vaguely suggestive of wet microbursts. We didn't stick around long enough to find out. #mowx
June 30, 2025 at 10:02 PM
We took a sounding near Richmond, MO in advance of some multicell clusters. The profile contained multiple cloud layers and was vaguely suggestive of wet microbursts. We didn't stick around long enough to find out. #mowx
A nice way to end our first day on the road driving west towards Des Moines. A backlit storm provided an evening spectacle.
June 30, 2025 at 1:13 PM
A nice way to end our first day on the road driving west towards Des Moines. A backlit storm provided an evening spectacle.
#SPOTTR Day 1: Our 2300 UTC sounding from Anamosa, IA revealed:
✅ Instability
✅ Moisture
✅ Lift
❌ No shear for you!
Result: Pulse storms and multicell clusters
✅ Instability
✅ Moisture
✅ Lift
❌ No shear for you!
Result: Pulse storms and multicell clusters
June 30, 2025 at 4:00 AM
#SPOTTR Day 1: Our 2300 UTC sounding from Anamosa, IA revealed:
✅ Instability
✅ Moisture
✅ Lift
❌ No shear for you!
Result: Pulse storms and multicell clusters
✅ Instability
✅ Moisture
✅ Lift
❌ No shear for you!
Result: Pulse storms and multicell clusters
Our #SPOTTR students, along with several guests from around EAPS, are now “certifiable” National Weather Service storm spotters! We are so deeply appreciative of Sam Lashley and Dave Beachler (not pictured) from NWS Indy for presenting an in-person training session to our class!
June 26, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Our #SPOTTR students, along with several guests from around EAPS, are now “certifiable” National Weather Service storm spotters! We are so deeply appreciative of Sam Lashley and Dave Beachler (not pictured) from NWS Indy for presenting an in-person training session to our class!
It’s been a busy week as our #SPOTTR students learn how to safely handle compressed helium cylinders, calibrate the compasses on their Kestrels, and more!
June 26, 2025 at 1:38 AM
It’s been a busy week as our #SPOTTR students learn how to safely handle compressed helium cylinders, calibrate the compasses on their Kestrels, and more!
Today we learned about how radar takes slices through storm cells using colored Play-Doh (reflectivity isosurfaces) and plastic knives (the radar beam)!
June 19, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Today we learned about how radar takes slices through storm cells using colored Play-Doh (reflectivity isosurfaces) and plastic knives (the radar beam)!
Our #SPOTTR class launched a radiosonde this morning to help NWS Indianapolis collect extra upper air data in advance of today's storms! It was great training for our upcoming trip! Photo from @paige-ashlyn-h.bsky.social. #inwx
June 18, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Our #SPOTTR class launched a radiosonde this morning to help NWS Indianapolis collect extra upper air data in advance of today's storms! It was great training for our upcoming trip! Photo from @paige-ashlyn-h.bsky.social. #inwx
#SPOTTR is finally underway! Prof. Couillard is teaching everything students ever wanted to know about skew-Ts (and they are not afraid to ask!)
June 17, 2025 at 2:32 PM
#SPOTTR is finally underway! Prof. Couillard is teaching everything students ever wanted to know about skew-Ts (and they are not afraid to ask!)