DANBURY, CONN. — 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, of Southington, is studying operational meteorology at Western. She hopes to one day forecast weather on TV 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 within 3,320 feet of track, at a maximum speed of 55 miles per hour.

After donning their “First to Ride” T-shirts, the WCSU students took their official spin on the Wicked Cyclone at 7 a.m.

“It was awesome,” Stanley said. “The click-climb as the ride ascends is always the hardest part, and this was very smooth. My favorite part was the barrel roll, a horizontal corkscrew at Zero-G. It was one of the best roller coasters I’ve ever been on.”

Sophomore operational meteorology student Ana Cabrera, of Somers, New York, agreed.

“The ride was incredible,” she said. “The drop was insane — it was more than a 70-degree drop. And with the loops upside down, you really feel the Zero gravity in your stomach; so it was really, really fun. It probably is accurate and on point with how it would feel to be in a cyclone, or chasing one.”

Sophomore Zack Duhaime, of Hamden, was impressed with the hybrid coaster’s ability to raise the stakes of the high-intensity ride of the original Cyclone wooden coaster by utilizing steel tracks on the Extreme Cyclone to enable the Zero gravity rolls. He also noticed the attention to detail in the queue area where enthusiasts will wait to board the ride. “They did a great job with the scenery and props,” he said. “There was a storm-chasing vehicle, weather sensors on ships, a plane and TV screens showing weather forecasters predicting an incoming cyclone.” Duhaime hopes to be an on-air meteorologist when he graduates.

Southbury resident Ana Moreno, who will be a senior operational meteorology major next fall, said being among the first to ride was very exciting and included a big send-off with confetti and V.I.P. treatment. As for the ride itself, “There was a lot of spinning in the Zero-G rolls, so I can see how you would compare that to a cyclone,” she said.

Equally adrenaline-inducing for the WCSU meteorology students was the presence of storm chaser Timmer and his fiancée, who had the honor of riding in the front row of the roller coaster on its maiden voyage.

“It was really cool to talk to them,” Stanley said. “They encouraged me to continue my meteorology studies.”

Duhaime agreed. “Meeting Reed, the most famous storm-chaser alive today, was an honor. He and his fiancée are both meteorologists, and we talked about the science behind chasing. Having them there made it that much more memorable and respectable, because obviously the ride is fooling around a bit with the weather, but weather can turn bad at any moment. It was also great to see Dan Amarante, a meteorologist with Fox-CT who graduated from Western, and to ride with some of the biggest thrill-seekers in the world.”

 
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