Kelsey Ennis

Welcome to my site! I am currently working as a Graduate Research Assistant at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. I am pursuing a Master's degree in Atmospheric Science, advised by Dr. Libby Barnes and co-advised by Dr. Eric Maloney. 

​

Originally I am from, East Windsor, a small town in New Jersey just outside of Princeton. I grew up there my whole life and I loved it. We were close to Manhattan, NY, Philadelphia, PA, and not a far drive to the famous Jersey shore. I was fortunate to have grown up there, the memories I made are irreplaceable. 

​

In 2019, I moved to Daytona Beach, Florida for undergraduate. I attended Embry Riddle Aeronautical University where I pursued a Bachelor's of Science in Meteorology and minored in applied mathematics. During my time there I was involved in undergraduate research, tutoring for the meteorology department, Tri Sigma Sorority, Vice President in Senior Class Council, and I worked for the university's Campus Safety Administration. I graduated in May 2023 and was awarded: Meteorology Student of the Year by the Meteorology dept., President of the Year by Fraternity & Sorority life, and ERAU's most prestigious undergraduate award, the John C. Adams, Jr. Community Service Award. The community service award is presented to one graduating senior per year in recognition of all the time and efforts the student has given to the university and the local community during their time at ERAU, it was an honour to have been recognized. 

​

I fell in love with the chaotic nature of the atmosphere when I was 3 years old. On what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation, my family was greeted with the alarming news that a storm was meandering in the Atlantic. To our surprise, many meteorologists across different news platforms were relaying that the storm would stay safely offshore as it went up the coast of the Eastern seaboard. What I didn't know (because I was 3.. duh) was that the remnants of Hurricane Ivan over the U.S. + other large scale synoptic features would decide the storm's path. In my head, we were safe. The meteorologists themselves didn't seem worried, everything would be fine. Right? 

 

Jeanne meandered in the Atlantic due to weak steering flow and completed a clockwise loop before heading westward and later strengthening to a Category 3 major hurricane prior to landfall. On September 23rd, just two days before landfall, it was made clear to us there would be a direct hit to Florida, even after the evening news the previous night said it would pass by us way offshore. With little time to prep and two young kids, my parents got the supplies they could and we hunkered down and rode out the storm in the city of Cocoa Beach, located on the 'Space Coast'. This is my earliest memory from my childhood. When I think back to it I remember the look of fear on both my parents' faces when they announced it was coming. I can still hear the screams of the wind and the sound of the rain striking the windows with incredible force. After the storm passed, the aftermath was unbelievable. I remember a church whose steeple was torn off, thrown, and lodged into the roof by Hurricane Frances just weeks earlier. But now after Hurricane Jeanne, the beautiful stained glass windows were shattered and littered in the street and the roof had now caved in. I remember going to the beach entrance but the swath of sand that separated the beachfront and ocean,was gone. All that remained was an angry ocean and scraps of people's belongings scattered on the battered sand dunes. I was 3 years old and the flood of emotions I was enduring felt too mature for me to comprehend. I was horrified at what I was looking at. I looked at my Mom and the only words I could say were, "this won't happen again, I am going to be the one to get it right." And just like that, on September 28th, 2004 a meteorologist was born. Hurricane Jeanne was indeed a traumatic experience, but it sparked a flame in me that grew larger over the years and now shines brighter than the sun. My life-long passion was ignited at 3 years old and after many years of hard work, my passion has turned into my career. ​

 

During my senior year of undergraduate, after taking many classes, I decided to figure out why the meteorologists struggled to forecast Hurricane Jeanne. As it turns out a subsequent Omega block sat stagnant over the Eastern/Midwestern United States, while the remnants of Hurricane Ivan weakened the ridge that was previously north of Jeanne, which caused the weak steering for 5 days as she swirled out in the Atlantic. Many meteorologists had different forecasts because a common cause of forecast busts are Atmospheric blocks because they are incredibly challenging to forecast. The decay of this block enabled upper-level steering to take precedence and the storm was propelled westward into Eastern Florida, just weeks after Hurricane Frances. 

 

3 year old me would have loved to know these answers. But 21 years later, I figured it out for her.