OK - Storm Chasers Dead, El Reno

Tim Samaras, his son Paul Samaras and Carl Young all died while chasing the tornado in El Reno, OK Friday evening. Tim founded TWISTEX and was on the Discovery Channels Storm Chasers.



RIP Tim, Paul and Carl. I just can't believe it

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/02/us/midwest-weather/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Prayers for their loved ones, prayers for us all.

These guys were all about the science and educating the public. Such a shame.

I don't know if this is true or not, but pretty cool if it is.

From Twitter:
Matthew Gaylor ‏@MatthewGaylor 2m
Happening NOW, spotters line up in to form the initials T.S. for Tim Samaras. Such a great loss. pic.twitter.com/8Xjp88GXEj

I wonder if they were in their vehicle or if they had took shelter?

So Sad!!! Prayers to all!

Daily Mail's take (with pictures, videos)

'They passed away doing what they loved': Three storm chasers including father and son killed by Oklahoma tornado as 12 confirmed dead

Bonnie Blue said:

I wonder if they were in their vehicle or if they had took shelter?

Click to expand...

They were over taken by the storm because it did a sharp direction change, so I assume they were in their vehicle
http://www.weather.com/news/tornado...g?hootPostID=80d26612cfa99e75024ea3c6719124e6

I'm really surprised people hadn't died years ago chasing. Few people have died in car accidents but not getting caught in tornado. Some get way to close and take too many chances. You really can't get any good video when you are up close, tornadoes are so huge.

Such a shame! Watched him on tv. He was careful and considerate. Prayers to his family.

Shelby1 said:

They were over taken by the storm because it did a sharp direction change, so I assume they were in their vehicle
http://www.weather.com/news/tornado...g?hootPostID=80d26612cfa99e75024ea3c6719124e6

Click to expand...

So sad...their poor families...

When I was young and fairly certain I would live forever, we used to storm chase, back when television in a small town was only the three network channels, back long before cell phones, back when, if one spotted something, one would look for the nearest sheriff's deputy at an intersection and tell him about it, and nothing more.

One Saturday my pal and I saw, across a valley and about three miles away, a very small tornado - it looked slim, graceful - chipping away at a hillside, almost elegantly dipping down.

We did notify that deputy then for some reason took the lake road instead of the highway back to town. And the storm caught us. Lateral winds lifted my small car though not entirely off the ground, up three times then down, sideways - bump, bump, bump - until the rear wheel was nearly in a rain-filled ditch.

That cured us for the summer from future storm chasing that year.

Those who came later and did it seriously, to protect and to educate, like these men, deserve full marks and full praise.

Very sad news, indeed! Praying for all those lost... And the survivors of such devastation.

Shelby1 said:

They were over taken by the storm because it did a sharp direction change, so I assume they were in their vehicle
http://www.weather.com/news/tornado...g?hootPostID=80d26612cfa99e75024ea3c6719124e6

Click to expand...

I have read that their cameras are missing and they are asking people to return them if found. I also remember watching the Weather Channel that night and they did say the tornado took an unusual turn (not what they usually do) and they think that's why so many people were trapped trying to outrun it. Just so very sad.

Here's a video showing how crazy things were in the tornado in El Reno. It seems like the three tornados are a fair distance away, but tornados keep dipping up and down until debris is flying everywhere and pummeling these guy's car while they try to drive to safety. At one point, it looks like a car comes crashing into their windshield.

Oops, I posted the wrong video -- I'll go look again for the one I was describing.

Okay, here it is. It's insanely scary. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/01/oklahoma-tornado-video-brandon-sullivan_n_3371849.html

As a child I used to have dreams about being in a car chasing after tornadoes. I grew up in central California so the chances of actually seeing a real tornado was pretty much slim to none but I have always thought that I would love to see one up close and in person. I didn't have a clue that people actually did that kind of thing. Fast forward to me as an old lady.... Hot dog! I can watch these storm troopers in action on TV and follow a few of them on FaceBook and around the interwebz. I still felt like I'd like to place a 'storm chase' on my bucket list.

Then a big chunk of my family moved to.... wait for it.... Moore & Norman, OK. They have lost friends and property and probably years off of their lives in the last few weeks. My nephew is a teacher in Moore and I asked him last week to please move home. His words were, Aunt LL&S, this is my home. My sister and her dh put in a storm shelter in their first home in Norman and I sat on the phone with them from their "hole" during the devastating storm in, I think it was 1999. She sent me photos of the carnage afterwards. The house they have now didn't have a shelter and after the first big tornado this year they started building one. It wasn't near finished when the second set of storms came through so they packed up their new car and tried to out run it. They said it was pretty hairy there for a few minutes but they got back home with only a few dents in the car. The last time I heard from them they still didn't have power, but they were all just fine. As fine as you can be while attending funerals of friends and siblings of your own beloved students. That's a dang tough community out there, that's for sure!!

This is heartbreaking news. My thoughts and prayers are with Tim's, Paul's, and Carl's loved ones and colleagues.

I have great respect for their work, which was so vital to understanding why & how tornadoes form.

As Tim said in an episode of season 3 of Storm Chasers: "We're not all about getting pretty pictures of tornadoes. We are all about collecting data from inside a tornado course."

As far as I'm concerned, Tim Samaras, his son Paul Samaras, and Carl Young are true heroes.

Thank you Tim, Paul, and Carl, for your brave dedication to advancing scientific knowledge of tornadoes.

You will be sorely missed. You will not be forgotten. :rose:

STEADFAST said:

Here's a video showing how crazy things were in the tornado in El Reno. It seems like the three tornados are a fair distance away, but tornados keep dipping up and down until debris is flying everywhere and pummeling these guy's car while they try to drive to safety. At one point, it looks like a car comes crashing into their windshield.

Oops, I posted the wrong video -- I'll go look again for the one I was describing.

Okay, here it is. It's insanely scary. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/01/oklahoma-tornado-video-brandon-sullivan_n_3371849.html

Click to expand...

Ack--I probably shouldn't have watched that. I had a nightmare last night that started out exactly like the beginning of the video--I was driving, came up a hill, and saw tornadoes on a large plain that looked *exactly* like those.

In my dream, some nice folks in a farmhouse waved me down and let me go into their cellar with them. Still, I suspect I'll have a repeat dream tonight.

So sad for the folks that died, and their families.

It takes someone very special to do what they did. Thoughts and prayers to their loved ones.

I don't know if this article is accurate or not, but if it is.....wow.


I know the pics of the vehicle are correct because I've seen them around the internet. Scroll down to see.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ornado-threw-car-somersaulting-half-mile.html