Even if we could predict hours in advance that the storms would hit a particular county (and as you correctly point out, this is not true--there may be several distinct tornadoes in a single outbreak, so it's quite possible that Oklahoma City and Enid could both be hit the same day), this would not help in a major metro area like Oklahoma City. 'Everyone acted differently in this storm, and as a result, it created an extremely dangerous situation,' said Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett. He was killed because an unusual and unprecedented tornado acted in an unpredictable manor and sadly cost him, his son, and chase partner their lives. I've literally sat bumper to bumper with chasers on a five mile strech of road. Using the unfortunate but unrelated deaths of well known storm chasers to rail against people trying to seek safety from a storm by getting out of the way strips any slight merit or credibility from your already weak and less than well thought out argument. The groundbreaking promise of cellular housekeeping. The news comes as the death toll from Friday's tornadoes and storms in Oklahoma has risen to 18 people, including six children and 12 adults, the Oklahoma chief medical examiner said on Monday. I was visiting OKC from Kansas City that day. I do regard some of the complaints I've gotten, especially some of the really nasty ones I've gotten by email, to be excuse making. Flash floods: Two pickup trucks are pictured stuck in high water along NW 23rd Street in El Reno. I think the only way to deal with these weeks-long tornado outbreaks is to build high-quality shelters in every community and make sure people know where they are. Discovery says it has been updated with 'Stormchasers' footage of the researchers. - May 31, 2013 (his death) Other works book: "Tornado Hunter: Getting Inside the Most Violent Storms on Earth". I don't know what they were thinking in a state packed with cars and almost no other transportation options and few shelters. The Oklahoma City metro district has about 1.3 million people. The elder Samaras' body was still belted into their Chevrolet Cobalt, which was found on an unimproved county road parallel to Interstate 40. Please be respectful of copyright. Often scores, even hundreds of chasers would converge on the same cell by late afternoon. The Last Ride of Legendary Storm Chaser Tim Samaras Don't create a law just to feel better because people died. Mr West guessed the experienced storm chasers were attempting to parallel the storm on the county road and it either changed course or another vortex appeared. When does spring start? They all unfortunately passed away but doing what they LOVED. How did Matt die in Storm Chasers? The update from the National Weather Service means the Oklahoma City area has seen two of the extremely rare EF5 tornadoes in only 11 days. But it is a free country, and if people want to be foolish then so be it. As of this writing, the death toll stands at 13 with another 6 (though Ive also heard 7) people still missing. The latter group tend to get in the way. If it was two more miles this way, it would have wiped out all of downtown, almost every one of our subdivisions and almost all of our businesses, White said. Christopher, I've heard from their own lips complaints by professional storm chasers about the looky-lous that clog up the roads, so probably both. One thing that makes tornadoes so dangerous is the speed at which they hit. But that brings in another issue doesn't it? 'The fact that it could happen to someone like Tim, it could happen to me, it could happen to anybody. We have many many laws that are more or less unenforceable. None of those fancy schemes work. St. Helens in 1980: some volcano researchers were killed in the eruption, but authorities were successful at keeping most civilians out of the danger zone. Injuries that were INCOMPATIBLE WITH LIFE. But what about big storms that dont drop tornadoes? Everybody was running for their lives,' said Terri Black, 51, a teacher's assistant in Moore. I had spotty phone connection with my husband watching TV in Kansas City, and my sister watching from Edmond, OK. Just as it was coming toward us, it turned south. Thats just my speculation, Smith said. One simple idea was to have either a hard hat or some sort of hard shell helmet to wear. The tornado then hurled the light Chevy Cobalt to the ground, leaving it looking as though it had been rammed through a trash compactor, police said. At 6:23 p.m. on May 31, 2013, Samaras, his 24-year-old son Paul (a photographer), and TWISTEX team member Carl Young (a meteorologist), 45, were killed by a violent wedge tornado [19] with winds of 295 mph (475 km/h) near the Regional Airport of El Reno, Oklahoma. If you want to walk down Main Street, in downtown America, you can do that, because it is America. 'The trees were leaning literally to the ground. NBC News reported that the passengers were herded to the basement and told to put their hands on their heads as they waited out the storm. I don't think the scientists who died in this storm would agree with you on that. . speaking of high velocity wind, that was the sound of the point flying by Dan L. Spell it out for me, Grant. Law enforcement in a tornado emergency already has immense priorities safeguarding the areas affected, treating the injured, rescues, ascertaining what equipment is needed, etc who would be pulled off those duties to chase down minor traffic violators? Tim Samaras, 55, along with his son, Paul Samaras, 24, and Carl Young, . Humans enjoy challenges that involve risk and admire those who "cheat death". Which Storm Chaser Killed Himself - BikeHike The . I've looked at video and have counted 458 people outside their vehicles in that small strech of road. Since I wrote this post, I've received many emails telling me that the premise is wrong, that traffic from too many storm chases did not contribute to the death of Samaras and others. Certainly broadcast public service announcements discussing the danger of chasing storms. The apparent fact that individuals don't take on the personal responsibility of doing the sensible thing is a tragedy. The fact of the matter is, you just never know where they're going to hit. ScienceBlogs is a registered trademark of Science 2.0, a science media nonprofit operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The thing is, this tornado was heading roughly from west to east into a highly populated area. Sun rise: Tornado debris hangs from a destroyed billboard sign along Interstate-40 Westbound after violent thunderstorms spawned tornadoes that menaced Oklahoma City and its already hard-hit suburb of Moore on Friday, Air chaos: At Will Rogers World Airport, 2,000 people spent the night sheltering in underground tunnels, Overturned: Authorities say people ignored advice to sit tight and attempted to leave the area - perhaps as a reaction to the previous tornado almost two weeks ago, Lightning: A storm chaser in Cushing stopped to take photos of the dramatic moment two lightning strikes hit the ground, Tragic: Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers found the bodies of a woman and an infant near their vehicle. October 31st 2015, 7:11 PM PDT. I'll take my chances sheltering in place, thank you. Renowned researcher and storm chaser Tim Samaras, 55, his son Paul Samaras, 24, and his chase partner Carl Young, 45, passed away after they were overtaken by the multiple-vortex tornado,. Friday night's victims included a mother and a baby sucked out of their car as the EF3 hit near El Reno. The Weather Channel's severe weather expert, Dr. Greg Forbes, knew Tim personally. 'I started seeing power flashes to the north, and I said "screw this." The worry soon turned to flash flooding and floodwaters topped four feet in Oklahoma City on Saturday morning. There was no place to hide.. Storm Chaser Timmer Reflects on Deadly Tornado But the agency upgraded the ranking after surveying damage from the twister, which along with subsequent flooding killed 18 people. "Samaras was a respected tornado researcher and friend who brought to the field a unique portfolio of expertise in engineering, science, writing and videography," the center's statement said. Also, there are nearly no public shelters anymore, due to liability issues. Tim Samaras, a native of Lakewood, Colo., holds the Guinness World Record for the greatest pressure drop ever measured inside a tornado. I'm not sure about your claim that there was not a traffic jam, that conflicts with everything else I've heard. This kind of movement is nearly unheard of in a tornado and that paired with the fact that the tornado was 2.6 miles wide, moving at an accelerating speed, turning 45 degrees suddenly, and had recorded winds of up to 295mph in it created the perfect scenario that no one could have predicted. But if the Acme Office Building, on Main Street, is on fire, broken glass is blowing out of windows and fire trucks and other emergency vehicles are trying to gain access to the building and nearby fire hydrants you cant walk down Main Street you are not really free to walk or drive up and down Main Street to take pictures of the event. OKLAHOMA CITY The deadly tornado that struck near Oklahoma City late last week killing 18, including three storm chasers, had a record-breaking width of 2.6 miles and was the second top-of-the-scale EF5 twister to hit the area in less than two weeks, the National Weather Service reported Tuesday. A small tornado in Kansas, photographed during Tim Samaras's lightning expedition in August 2009. On her way home after the worst had passed 'the roads were like rivers,' she said. "This is a very sad day for the meteorological community and the families of our friends lost. Lighting up the sky: The storm chasers work was featured on National Geographic and the Discovery Channel as they tracked violent weather systems, 'Tim's research included creation of a special probe he would place in the path of a twister to measure data from inside the tornado; his pioneering work on lightning was featured in the August 2012 issue of National Geographic magazine. Large, long-lasting thunderstorms known as supercells are responsible for producing the strongest tornadoes, along with large hail and other dangerous winds. Apply that technology to license plates instead of faces. Tim Samaras, 55, his son Paul, 24, and crew member Carl Young, 45, died in El Reno on Friday They were heard on Oklahoma Highway Patrol radio screaming before they were killed The elder Samaras was. "We still don't know why some thunderstorms create tornadoes while others don't," he told National Geographic last month. So, lets go back to the advice again. Northeast of St. Louis and across the Mississippi River, the city of Roxana was hit by an EF3 tornado, but National Weather Service meteorologist Jayson Gosselin said it wasn't clear whether the damage in both states came from the same EF3 twister or separate ones. Sheriff Cody Carpenter and a wildlife officer had been checking on houses that were in danger of being flooded. understanding tornadoes will prevent this from happening. They can easily cite or arrest anyone they need to, and even temporarily imprison them, without charging them with anything. National Geographic explorer and storm chaser Tim Samaras devoted his life to unlocking the mysteries of extreme weather. Debris: This aerial photo shows damage in the Rolling Meadow Estates neighborhood on Friday in Broken Arrow, Okla. after a tornado had passed the area, Dangerous: Forecasters warned of a 'particularly dangerous situation,' with ominous language about strong tornadoes and hail the size of grapefruits 4 inches in diameter. But I'll just say that I think there are less extreme solutions than putting a ban on all amateur storm chasing. How a Legendary Storm Chaser Changed the Face of Tornado Science Two and half miles has been the widely accepted dimension, but if you measure wind speeds, the tornado could have been anywhere from three to 4.5 miles across. He was found hanging in his Wichita, Kansas home. Tim Samaras, his son Paul and colleague Carl Young died Friday night when an EF3 tornado with winds up to 165 mph turned on them near El Reno, Okla. After years of sharing dramatic videos with. Three storm chasers died in that storm. Are they going to fire that weather reporter who told listeners to drive into the tornado? Published: 23:27 GMT, 3 June 2013 | Updated: 08:30 GMT, 4 June 2013. You are absolutely right, that this tornado was a particularly monstrous one. As you come closer to a cloud you don't get something smooth, but irregularities at a smaller scale." Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. National Geographic storm chaser Tim Samaras gave an interview on the day of his deathspeaking to National Geographic radio host Boyd Matson from the road on May 31 about his attempts to study . Following their passion: Storm chasers Tim Samaras (right), his son Paul Samaras (left) and Carl Young (second left) were killed on Friday by a tornado. If you are directly hit by a strong tornado, ending up in the vortex, and you are in the bathtub of your home on the lower floor, youve got a pretty good chance of survival. It is also true that the relatively cautious drop and run strategy meant that they missed getting their equipment in the direct path of a tornado more often than not. Yes, lets get the facts straight, which the comments below and the information added here help do. >>> I support this 100%. But, since we (we here discussing this) don't really know the laws and how they work regarding emergency response, traffic, etc. Laws are really challenging to enforce. Tim's death is a stark reminder of the risks encountered regularly by the men and women who work for us. (MORE: Reaction from Dr. Jeff Masters of Weather Underground). A total of five tornadoes struck the Oklahoma City metro area, the National Weather Service said. Let me post a reply to many of the above comments and suggestions. Photo by George Johnson. Personally it does anger me when you see chasers, pro or amateur, driving past people who may be potentially injured and most certainly in need just to keep getting the shot. I havent seen any good arguments yet that storm chasers and others on the road during a tornado are posing a danger to anyone but themselves. Pay special attention to what the weather forecaster says starting at 4:35: if you can drive south, anywhere around Whitewater Bay, State Fair Park, the Ballpark, downtown Oklahoma City, southwest Integres, US Grant District, Rose State college, Midwest City regional medical center, Midwest City, and Parts of Del city, you need to drive south now. (approximate transcript). Also my brother was forced to move to Oklahoma for a job just last week only days after the tornado in this article struck Oklahoma city. More cars on the roads also meant more trouble for Highway Patrol officers responding to automobile accidents during the storm, Randolph said. Regarding emotional tragedy and responding to the thing that caused the emotional strategy, no, you've got that wrong. When the amateur storm chasers descend upon the same area they create a real hazard for the professionals by blocking escape routes. One is that people may have been encouraged via chatter in a number of places to use "driving away" as their strategy for getting away from this particular tornado. The roughly 5,000-year-old human remains were found in graves from the Yamnaya culture, and the discovery may partially explain their rapid expansion throughout Europe. The shredded pieces of the car hook to the south then across the road to the northeast: I have difficulty fathoming the violence implied in that paragraph. In Missouri three people died in three counties after rivers rose to dangerous levels, and in Arkansas a sheriff was killed by flooding in Scott County on Friday. In some but not all cases, this advice was qualified; If you know several hours in advance that there is a high probability that a tornado will come through your area, then it is a good idea to just go away and be somewhere else. . I live in a rural town in southern West Virginia, however we are no strangers to tornadoes in 2001 a tornado ripped several close friends houses to shreds and they were only saved by using the old bath tub trick. Tim Samaras, 55, along with his son, Paul Samaras, 24, and Carl Young, 45, died on Friday in El Reno after a tornado that packed winds of up to 165 mph picked up their car and threw it, somersaulting, a half a mile. In theory the helium gas should combine with the natural vortex suction and make the conditions for the tornado formation less favorable it may also be possible to deliver the helium through other methods or maybe have the helium frozen in water droplets A.K.A frozen helium crystals, and dropped from air tankers. 1:50PM. Your analogy regarding the burning building is wrong as well. Myers said the man left for work early Saturday and his vehicle was found empty near East Hefner Road and Dobbs Road just after 6 a.m. 'His vehicle was found washed off the road,' Myers said. I know this from my own children being in Norman public schools. I don't know all that much about chasing so I recognize that there could be some logistical problems with my above statements. But, I suspect I know why you proposed that idea. That sort of delay could have been the difference between the Samaras team escaping and being caught in the tornado. Say you are sitting in your home and you know there is a tornado coming and you are watching TV and the following breathless reporting is happening. If you are worried about the roads being clogged during a tornado then don't drive or don't live in tornado alley. Since this post went live Jeff posted about another storm chaser, an amateur, who was killed in this tornado. Storm chasers being killed by storms isn't even a problem. Or was it a rotating thunderstorm (a supercell) with small- to moderate-sized tornadoes swirling about one another? Photograph by Carsten Peter, National Geographic. News casters were telling people in the direct line of the tornado do drive south. But then the tornado made a turn and headed straight for the south that people were being told to drive to. Academic Postmortem of Tornado that Killed Tim Samaras Is Chilling Brantley Hargrove October 1, 2013 1:50PM The American Meteorological Society has released a preliminary version of its. With all due respect, the citizens of tornado alley, especially Oklahoma, need to better educate themselves on severe weather. I could not agree more with the statement in this article saying that driving away is not the best option. Their deaths may not seem surprising; storm chasing, as you might expect, has its risks. Thanks for contacting us. Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Alex Murdaugh unanimously found GUILTY of murder of wife and son, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Fleet-footed cop chases an offender riding a scooter, Two Russian tanks annihilated with bombs by Ukrainian armed forces, Isabel Oakeshott clashes with Nick Robinson over Hancock texts, Do not sell or share my personal information. After 20 seconds, it rotates back around to the south side of the tornado. tornado disbursement tactical teams should be flown in by helicopter and then flown out after the job is done, its much safer this way. It is fairly safe to say, that Mr. Samaras, his son, and Mr. Carl Young, sustained injuries when the sub-vortex of the El Reno storm directly impacted their vehicle on Reuters Road, west of the intersection with Radio Road. The tornado was unpredictable. (MORE: Tornado Hunt Team Takes Direct Hit by Tornado).

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