A meteorology course at the University of Manitoba brings students into the eye of the storm.
The course teaches the science behind severe thunderstorms, and tells students how to safely chase them.
Students spend several weeks learning in the classroom before heading out with instructors to find a storm.
"We'll actually hold class in front of a big storm. The instructor will stand there, there's a big storm behind us, and we'll explaining this is what we're seeing, this is what is happening, can you feel the air, what it's doing," said instructor Pat McCarthy.
McCarthy said he’s been chasing storms since 1982. He works as a meteorologist for Environment Canada when he’s not teaching the storm chasing course.
McCarthy said the weeklong field trip at the end of the course allows students to apply the knowledge they learned in class.
"They get to try to predict where the thunderstorms are going to be and then we're going to invest all of our time, all of our resources, to go and drive to those locations and see if those storms do appear."
There are 14 spots available in the class. Preference is given to atmospheric science students at the U of M, but any leftover spots are open to the public.
Marie Loeppky signed up to learn how to safely chase storms, after she got too close to the 2007 tornado in Elie.
"I was out there watching the F-5 that hit Elie. I was on the wrong side of that storm, so it chased me back to the city actually," said Loeppky.
The students leave for their field trip the third week of June.
McCarthy said the location will depend on weather systems, but the class has been as far west as Alberta and as far south as Kansas and Colorado.
