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Hurricanes Used as Teaching Tool by Professor

NOAA

A Kent State University geography professor is using real-time images of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma to teach his meteorology students.

Tom Schmidlin says that allows his students to study the physical geography of the storm and social geography of its impacts. One of the impacts, Schmidlin says, is surviving.

Tom Schmidlin
Credit Kent State University
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Kent State University
Tom Schmidlin

“Many of my students will someday live on a hurricane-prone coast. And not only do I want them to understand the meteorology for my course, because that is the outcome of my course – to understand these storms. But I want them to have the practical advice well-rounded because they’ll remember these things all their life I hope, and some of them will have to put it to use someday.”

Schmidlin says while both storms are significant, he believes the term “500-year storm” is overused.

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Ryan is a senior multimedia journalism student at Kent State University with experience in print and radio journalism. He is working toward a Bachelor's Degree in Multimedia Journalism. During the school year, Landolph works for Kent State Student Media with Black Squirrel Radio, where he is a sports director and radio host. Additionally, Landolph covers Cleveland sports for FanSided's Factory of Sadness.