Despite a loud, late thunderstorm the night before, Western Connecticut State University junior meteorology student Jessica Stanley woke up unbelievably early on May 20 to check out a cyclone. Not the weather condition that involves a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms — this cyclone was the first hybrid roller coaster on the East Coast. As part of the launch of Six Flags New England’s “Wicked Cyclone” coaster, the amusement park invited renowned storm chaser and meteorologist Reed Timmer and about two dozen meteorology students from WCSU to go for the first spin. Stanley, a Southington resident, is studying operational meteorology at Western. She hopes to one day forecast weather on television before becoming a meteorology professor to share her love of weather with others. But on May 20, a different kind of cyclone was beckoning as she and several of her classmates got on the road at around 5 a.m. in order to make it to Agawam, Massachusetts, by 6:30 a.m. for “Media Day” at Six Flags. Once there, Stanley and her classmates were given a behind-the-scenes tour of the coaster that features a 109-foot climb, a 78-degree drop and 24 different ride elements including two Zero-G rolls […]
Despite a loud, late thunderstorm the night before, Western Connecticut State University junior meteorology student Jessica Stanley woke up unbelievably early on May 20 to check out a cyclone. Not the weather condition that involves a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms — this cyclone was the first hybrid roller coaster on the East Coast. As part of the launch of Six Flags New England’s “Wicked Cyclone” coaster, the amusement park invited renowned storm chaser and meteorologist Reed Timmer and about two dozen meteorology students from WCSU to go for the first spin. Stanley, a Southington resident, is studying operational meteorology at Western. She hopes to one day forecast weather on television before becoming a meteorology professor to share her love of weather with others. But on May 20, a different kind of cyclone was beckoning as she and several of her classmates got on the road at around 5 a.m. in order to make it to Agawam, Massachusetts, by 6:30 a.m. for “Media Day” at Six Flags. Once there, Stanley and her classmates were given a behind-the-scenes tour of the coaster that features a 109-foot climb, a 78-degree drop and 24 different ride elements including two Zero-G rolls […]