Hurricane Class Hits C of C

May 6, 2002

WCBD-TV Chief Meteorologist Rob Fowler speaks to students in Professor Lee Lindner’s “Hurricane!” class.

The Spring 2002 semester has been hurricane season for College of Charleston students enrolled in a new course devoted to understanding the physics of hurricanes as well as the influence these feared weather phenomena have on man and the environment.

Simply called “Hurricane,” the course is offered as part of C of C’s environmental studies minor, but is open to all students. Dr. Lee Lindner, Associate Professor of Atmospheric Physics, divided the class into two main sections. The first focuses on understanding hurricanes in terms of how they work and move, while the second half examines how hurricanes affect society, politics, and history. “We try to tie together the science and non-science aspects of hurricanes,” said Lindner.

One unique aspect of the course has been the variety of guest speakers. They have included Steve Brueske of the National Weather Service who discussed storm forecasting, Ben Myers of the American Red Cross who spoke about assisting victims, and Mary Ann Burke of the National Forest Service who detailed the destruction of the Francis Marion Forest after Hurricane Hugo in 1989. There have also been visits by Cathy Haynes of the Charleston County Emergency Preparedness Office who discussed evacuations, C of C geology professor Mike Katuna who reviewed beach erosion after Hurricane Hugo, and Rob Fowler, chief meteorologist for WCBD-TV in Charleston, who gave insights into how the media cover severe weather.

The variety of speakers, said Seth Siegler, a senior communications major, “gave us specific knowledge in different disciplines.”

Professor Lindner and Rob Fowler

“Living in the South as I do, I want to know more about how to deal with hurricanes,” added Olivia Brown, a sophomore biology major.

“These experts are from many different fields and they deal with hurricanes from different perspectives,” said Lindner. “I want the students to understand the interrelatedness of these disciplines. Upon completion of the course, it will become clear that all problems need to be solved from a multi-disciplinary approach.”

Students in the course also read one of eight suggested hurricane books and wrote a paper about it. They read a second book, and in groups, gave oral presentations. There’s also an Internet project that involved compiling a list of web sites dedicated to some aspect of hurricanes.

Currently the College of Charleston is the only school in South Carolina offering a degree in meteorology. C of C’s Department of Physics and Astronomy is examining the feasibility of enhancing the existing meteorology degree to meet all of the American Meteorology Society requirements for a full meteorology program, according to Lindner.

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Contact: Patrick Harwood
College Relations
(843) 953-2548
harwoodp@cofc.edu