| EAS
Site Toolbar |
||||
| EAS
Majors |
||||
| General
Interest |
||||
| People |
||||
Dark, threatening clouds swirled in the distance. One storm front raced past followed by another and then another. Doug Hoffman, directing the Minnesota Golf Association Players Championship at Chaska Town Course on June 25, reached for his cell phone many times, taking reports on dangerous weather in the area. Hoffman stopped the tournament several times because of the conditions. The reports were provided by Alan Klein and Mike Schulte, who are doing it as part of a summer internship at St. Cloud State University.
"It's a very valuable service,'' Hoffman said. "In our estimation, it saves lives, and that's what it's all about.'' Klein and Schulte are seniors majoring in meteorology. Klein is from Colome, S.D., and Schulte is from Jordan, Minn.
Klein's parents are teachers but also own a farm, and Alan was expected to help with the chores. "There's so much weather in South Dakota,'' Klein said. "We had plenty of storms to look at, and it became very interesting.'' He had an ulterior motive, too. "We got a break from fieldwork with the storms,'' he said.
Schulte's interest was a bit more basic, perhaps the result of daydreaming on a summer afternoon. "I just got interested by watching clouds,'' he said.
Klein and Schulte work as a team. Klein might begin the day by monitoring storm systems on his home computer before heading to class. Schulte fills in until Klein is finished with class. Both communicate with golf courses holding tournaments around the state.
Monday, there were five MGA events. State Amateur qualifying was held in Biwabik, Fairmont, Cannon Falls and Owatonna. The state junior boys tournament was played at Dellwood Hills. The MGA has used the service since 2001. Previously it used Weather Trends, which was discontinued in 2001.
"We needed better service than I could provide by watching the weather channel,'' Hoffman said. The MGA contacted St. Cloud State, and a new alliance was formed. "Aside from having a full-time meteorologist, I couldn't really ask for anything better,'' Hoffman said. "They (Schulte and Klein) are available from 6:30 a.m. until we're done with a tournament for the day.''
Klein is not certain what he will do after he graduates. "I don't know, wherever it takes me,'' he said. "I want to do something in forecasting.'' Schulte has an interest in broadcast meteorology. "If that doesn't work, then something in a private forecasting business,'' he said.
Schulte said working as a team is the best approach to monitoring golf weather. "It really helps to have a way to double check,'' he said. Klein began monitoring the weather for the MGA Players' Championship much as he does for other locales during the week. He was up at 6 a.m. and on the Internet. "I looked at the radar quickly to get some indications of what to expect,'' he said. "Then I went back, looking at other weather data to see how things might develop throughout the day.'' Klein looked at satellite images to locate clouds, then at water vapor images. "It gives me a feel for what might happen,'' he said. Then he switched Web sites to the storm prediction center in Norman, Okla. "They pick three hotspots in the country for severe weather,'' he said "The center contains almost everything I need.''
Klein watched storm radar throughout the day, monitoring severe weather patterns and making calls to Chaska, while Schulte was doing pretty much the same thing.
"I think we had five hours of delays on the second day of the tournament,'' Hoffman said. "We had to suspend play during the first round the day before.'' Klein typically monitors weather on tournament days from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and then heads to class. "He (Schulte) covers from 10 a.m. to noon, otherwise we're both doing it,'' Klein said. "As soon as I'm done with class, I head back to the weather lab or back to my apartment and start monitoring again.''
Klein is grateful for the opportunity to do this internship and earn possible credit for it toward his degree. The assignment will last through the first week of September. "I just love it,'' he said. "I'd do it again.''
Jim Wells covers area golf. He can be reached at jwells@pioneerpress.com
| Top of Page | Return to EAS Alumni Page |
Page last updated: 7:00 AM 14-July-2003
For questions about this page, contact Bob Weisman