CENTERVILLE, Va. — Students at Centre Ridge Elementary School had fun learning about weather with WUSA9 Meteorologist Miri Marshall.
About 80 students took part in the school visit Wednesday morning. Students learned about cold fronts, atmospheric pressure and lightning safety.
For example, WUSA9 helped students to learn how far away lightning can strike with an average storm and how long you should wait to go outdoors after a storm.
The National Weather Service found that lightning can strike up to 25 miles away with a storm and recommends that people wait at least 30 minutes until the storm has passed to resume outdoor activities.
Students were also amazed to take a peak inside of ECO9 ─ WUSA9's hybrid storm tracking vehicle. Toyota customized the SUV that can operate off of electricity or gas.
“They were super excited," said Ramiah Ford, Academic Dean & AVID Coordinator at Centre Ridge Elementary School. "They were very engaged in the hands on activities. I heard some students walking going, 'I wanted to be the lightning.' Great job with the millibars, having them sit down. I heard students saying 'What were all those buttons inside the truck.'"
Ford said the lessons learned will help students in the academic endeavors.
"They are about to start this weather unit and this is a great way to frontload the information." Ford said.