The Life And Death Of A Storm-chaser - YouTube (Though I'm not so sure that restrictive law re tornadoes is the first or best strategy - simply ensuring that emergency personnel of all kinds have the authority to control traffic might be OK so long as they are adequately trained and backed up with good links to forecasters.) please note that I did not claim in my post what you claim I claimed. "Though we sometimes take it for granted, Tim's death is a stark reminder of the risks encountered regularly by the men and women who work for us.". I have lived in the Oklahoma City area for 37 years and have been professionally chasing storms for the last 18 years. The gas you'd save would easily pay for a shovel. It may be only a matter of seconds before you have time to find shelter. Storm chasers killed: How did it happen? - CSMonitor.com Not only are rubberneckers prohibited from fire danger areas, even people who live in the area are prohibited from access. His pioneering work included the development of probes which when left in the path of a tornado, can measure pressure drops. Some of my colleagues stayed, where there is a basement. The storm was headed toward Oklahoma City, which has more than a million people in the metro area. Was the chaser causing harm? As for the accuracy of the cause of death of the Twistex team, I report here what was said at the time. The roads need to be kept open and clear for the REAL scientists out there gathering data and for the safety folks to do their job. 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 so! However, the men's deaths have shone a spotlight on the dangers of storm chasing. The article was entitled, disturbingly, Scientists, Give Up Your Emails. I dont think they realize how lucky El Reno was.. Oklahoma wasn't the only state hit by violent weather Friday night. Salvaging: A chef at Gilmore's Kitchen at the OKC-West Stockyards, is framed by the kitchen pass-through window on the only kitchen wall still remaining as he checks tornado damage in El Reno, Childcare center: The devastation caused by Friday's storms included a wind turbine blade crashing into a daycare center, fortunately no children were inside, Remains: A man looks for items in what is left of a house in El Reno, Oklahoma on Saturday, Damage: A family inspect the office of what is left of the livestock auction business near El Reno, Oklahoma. Why wetlands are so critical for life on Earth, Rest in compost? At the time that Samaras, his son, and his colleague, were crushed to death inside their tornado-chasing car, which was apparently rolled by the force of 200-300 mile an hour winds over a. The forecast quality will always be better than for small-scale phenomena like tornadoes. Long story short, I and many others took cover in the hotel bathroom as the tornado headed straight toward us (to hit at 7:05). Another thing I noticed that was looked over in this article was the unique conditions that were present at the time that Tim and his crew were killed by the storm. She quickly regretted it. After seeing last month's tornado also turn homes into piles of splintered rubble, Ms Black said she decided to try and outrun the tornado when she learned her southwest Oklahoma City home was in harm's way. Can we bring a species back from the brink? A new book chronicles his harrowing last days Maya Wei-Haas April 4, 2018 The tornado that touched down near El. One might argue that if someone wants to drive their car into the path of a tornado they should be allowed to do so because it is a free country. Police urged motorists to leave the crosstown Interstate 40 and seek a safe place. All rights reserved. Three experienced tornado chasers actual meteorological scientists were killed when their truck (one of the vehicles depicted above, probably) was destroyed by the tornado. (MORE: Tornado Hunt Team Takes Direct Hit by Tornado). It was over in just minutes, when we climbed the stairs half the house was gone but nearly all the houses on the street in back of us where gone! The point of this post is to note two things that I can't prove are relevant in this case but certainly are relevant generally. 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. Tim Samaras, 55, was found dead still belted into the mangled wreck, while the bodies of his son, 24, and Young, 45, were flung a quarter-mile away in opposite directions. Our hearts also go out to the Carl Young family as well as they are feeling the same feelings we are today. 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. Photo by George Johnson. Would one less car have been on that particular road had your proposed law been in place? I would like to see some repercussions for the idiotic weather personalities who suggested running away. The unqualified version of that advice is If there is a tornado coming your way now, get in your car and drive away fast. That is also bad advice. Okla. tornado chasers' final screams: 'We're going to die' See also: The Last Ride of Legendary Storm Chaser Tim Samaras). And, I've argued that telling people that the safest thing to do is to get in their car and drive is wrong. Other professional meteorologists, from The Weather Channel, were injured. And we cannot "go to the sun" or other planets where it's abundant and "scoop it up and bring it back to earth". Second, the point is still valid. Take note at 3:09 - that's the edge of the tornado visible in the right side of the frame as it grows to nearly 2.6 miles across - the largest ever recorded. Also, hurricanes tend to follow predictable paths and show up on sattelite. I've had grown adults that have lived in Oklahoma their entire lives ask me what the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning is. Certainly broadcast public service announcements discussing the danger of chasing storms. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. Jim Samaras said his brother, nephew and their colleague were dedicated to avoiding trouble while chasing storms, and that the family wasn't worried about whether he was taking care of himself. Enforcement is difficult, but not impossible. El Reno Mayor Matt White said that while his city of 18,000 residents suffered significant damage including its vocational-technical center and a cattle stockyard that was reduced to a pile of twisted metal he said it could have been much worse had the violent twister tracked to the north. I think one suggestion if such a law could ever be enforced to weed out the average thrill seeker is maybe require one, a first aid type certification. In 2012, storm chaser Andy Gabrielson died while driving home from a chase when a wrong-way driver struck his vehicle on Interstate 44 in Sapulpa, Okla. 'It was chaos. Police have a hard enough time now dealing with emergencies, the last thing they have time to do is stop to write tickets. I don't think the scientists who died in this storm would agree with you on that. Unless you wish to legislate God, I recommend you rethink your proposal. The debris field created by Samaras' wrecked car, the report concludes, corroborates the footage, which shows the subvortex moving across the face of the larger tornado at about the time Samaras' headlights disappear. I have not suggested that storm chasing be illegal. Here's a new law we can make: Whenever there is an emotional tragedy, no laws related to it can be made for at least 5 years. They went in the field focused on collecting data to enable meteorologists to further the science behind tornadoes which we know has and will help to save countless lives. I was visiting OKC from Kansas City that day. Until proven otherwise, I will assume that the special category of people known as Professional Storm Chasers like Tim Samaras and his crew as well as Reed Timmer, and others, are risking their own lives to make observations and collect data that help us understand tornadoes better, to make better predictions about storm behavior, and thus to make better predictions about unfolding storms. Mike Bettes, a member of the Weather Channel Tornado Hunt Team, was driving in his SUV when it was picked up and thrown 200 yards by the monster rain-wrapped tornado near El Reno. One simple idea was to have either a hard hat or some sort of hard shell helmet to wear. Roughly speaking, this is the equivalent of driving down the highway at several tens of miles an hour and suddenly flipping, three or four times. 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. 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. If you're prepared to fight fire and defend your property you have to be there before fire starts and stay there for as long as it takes. It is emotional to posit "people died, let's make a law" without really identifying a true cause. He also starred in the Discovery Channel series Storm Chasers. He did not say "don't get in your car" and he did not say "a car is a bad place to be, and if you find yourself in a car do this and that" which is what he should have said. The last time we had a tornado warning where I live (July 2008), several people who work in my building actually went outside to look; luckily, the tornado never came close to us, because it was the worst one in state history (it was an EF-3 that had a 50 mile ground track). These things will always be unpredicable and its good to hid under the basement steps! 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. The thing is, this tornado was heading roughly from west to east into a highly populated area. Having been in law enforcement some years ago I don't think you understand how unenforceable those laws would be. 'The fact that it could happen to someone like Tim, it could happen to me, it could happen to anybody. When does spring start? Everybody was running for their lives,' said Terri Black, 51, a teacher's assistant in Moore.