SWIRLL

Colleges and Universities are so much fun…when you’re no longer a student! Recently, I had to pass some time waiting for my son so I did a little urban exploring and ended up at UAHuntsville’s  SWIRLL facility (Severe Weather Institute - Radar and Lightning Laboratories). I had seen a picture of its lobby in the newspaper and wanted to see it for myself, so I went in and gave myself a tour. I only encountered one employee and he said it was his first day, but they had informational signs posted in the lobby.

The SWIRLL facility, which opened in 2015, is used for research on severe and hazardous weather, radar meteorology, lightning meteorology, lightning physics, and air quality, as well as to promote research, education, and outreach in these areas. I expect that tours can be arranged, but I just showed up on the spur of the moment.

A 3-story spiral staircase surrounds a computer-controlled globe used to display weather patterns. Beneath it, a compass rose embedded in the floor includes the Greek names for the winds. 

There are five roof platforms that support instrument testing and data collection.

A High Bay is used for maintenance and fabrication of mobile platforms and other instruments.

Observation balcony in the high bay

Mobile research platform in the parking lot

An aside and a rant: Thank you UAH for having public buildings that are actually open to the public! And for not telling me I can’t take photos outdoors! I have been very annoyed lately with people telling me that I can’t take photos of building exteriors. In San Antonio I was photographing former World’s Fair buildings-turned-U.S. Federal Buildings when a worker, who claimed to be a photographer, came outside and told me it is illegal to take photos of federal buildings and I could be arrested for it. Oh, really? I do it all the time, but I left so as not to potentially be arrested. Back at my hotel I did some online research and found that such cases have actually been adjudicated in the federal courts and it is NOT illegal to take photos of federal buildings from areas open to the public (i.e. where I was in a parking lot.) 

The same thing happened in Huntsville when I was taking photos of the very cool “Breaking Earth's Bond” sculpture at the Redstone Gateway Office Park (where I also explored before going to SWIRLL). A woman told me that no one is allowed to take pictures of anything at the Boeing facility (including outdoors) and I could get in trouble if my picture showed up on Facebook. Now, the little park with the sculpture may be Boeing property (not sure), so maybe they can have such a rule – still not sure and I don’t like it. (I have a pension with Boeing though, so maybe I had better not complain.) When the sculpture was first unveiled in 2013 the newspaper referred to it as a “public sculpture” and I did photograph it back then, when the Boeing buildings were still under construction).