HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) -
Many people in the Gulf fled to get away from Isaac, but some students from UAH hit the road and headed straight for the storm, all in the name of science.
They studied the storm when it hit and returned Thursday.
"We were mainly interested in the transition of storms within the hurricanes rain bands and how they are modified, how they cross from the ocean regime into land," said PhD candidate, Stephanie Mullins. "That can have a big impact on the severe weather threat and so being able to understand how the changes help with forecasting severe weather and tornadoes that respond when hurricanes make landfall."
Mullins braved the strong winds and rain to collect data in the schools mobile radar van.
"It's a little overwhelming at times because there's a lot you're trying to monitor and make sure all the equipment is running properly and you're still collecting data even if wind may interfere or whatnot and monitoring for our safety," she said.
Grad student Ryan Wade stayed in Huntsville to keep track of his team and the storm.
"During the event, I had to stay on top of radar trends, how the particular storm was wobbling, where the rain bands were setting up and what that meant for our folks' safety as well as the research operation's," Wade said.
Mullins said now that they are back in town, it's back to work.
"As much work as it is to successfully have a hurricane deployment and data collection, the real work actually begins at this point when we're back here in Huntsville and can dig through the data that we have," she said.
The group of nine collected their data and worked in what was Hurricane Isaac for 30 hours. The information they have can be used later for class projects and thesis papers.
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A team from UAH studied the storm when it hit and returned Thursday.
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