Remembering Storm Chasers Tim and Paul Samaras, and Carl Young

[Dkoellerwx]

I know there are a number of fellow weather geeks around here, so I though I would post this.

 

As a meteorologist, and occasional storm chaser, today has been a hard day, for me and meteorologists around the nation. The Twistex storm chase team, Tim Samaras, his son Paul, and team member Carl Young were caught in a tornado near El Reno, OK on Friday. It appears their vehicle was picked up and thrown by the tornado several hundred feet, and they did not survive. 

 

I had the pleasure of meeting Tim several years ago, he was a very kind, brilliant man, and always erred on the side of caution around storms. I don't know what went wrong on Friday, but I know that he was not the thrill seeking type that many associate with storm chasers. Tim and his team truly chased to advance science.

 

ABC has a nice article if you want to know more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/storm-chasers-tim-samaras-paul-samaras-carl-young/story?id=19308572

 

[Rukin1]

That's absolutely horribly tragic. Thank god tornado's here are rare.

Much respect to those three and the big balls they had!

RIP

[mdob07]

I was a big fan of DIscovery's Storm Chasers series when it was still on. Tim was very successful at deploying his probes in the path of tornados for research. The data he collected over the years has undoubtedly advanced warning times and saved many other people's lives. He was definitely one of the best in his field. Hopefully other people can pick up his research and continue his mission. Weather is one of the most fascinating things on this planet, and yet also one of the most unpredictable and deadly. 

 

RIP Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras, and Carl Young

 

Watching people like Sean Casey and Reed Timmer put vehicles in the path of a storm and surviving can give a false sense of the power of these storms. I love watching the footage they collect but pray that they return safely. Reed has started his own show, "Tornado Chasers" for those interested. www.tvnweather.com   

[digiblur]

Call me a storm runner. I think it is insane that people chase these things.

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

 

[gr8nuguy]

I knew Paul. Ive run into him several times over the years while storm chasing.  The whole team will be greatly missed. Its hard to believe they are gone      Goes to show how ever confident you are in your skills as a storm chaser, mother nature can and will throw you a curve ball and catch even the most experienced storm chaser off guard.  RIP -Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras, and Carl Young

[Stevero]

RIP Tim & Paul Samaras and Carl Young.

 

So sorry for the families of the lost stormchashers. 

 

Was driving around rural El Reno looking for houses of co-workers of the GF (who works in El Reno, seat of Canadian county) but the sheriff had many roads blocked off including the one where the tornado killed folks. 

 

The tornado made a virtual 90 degree turn to get the stormchashers so they didn't do anything stupid, just unlucky in a dangerous situation.  Another crew survived being lifted 30 feet in the air then thrown another 200. 

Nine were killed in all with another six missing. 

 

After El Reno this tornado set it's sights on Yukon where the GF lives.  On TV they're telling folks that you must be underground to survive so she evacuated and had a harrowing drive to my place where I have an in-ground garage shelter.  The peace of mind it provides makes the shelter well worth it.  We're all ready for the season to be over and traditionally about now is when it ends. 

[Mobilesolutions]

RIP Tim & Paul Samaras and Carl Young.

 

So sorry for the families of the lost stormchashers. 

 

Was driving around rural El Reno looking for houses of co-workers of the GF (who works in El Reno, seat of Canadian county) but the sheriff had many roads blocked off including the one where the tornado killed folks. 

 

The tornado made a virtual 90 degree turn to get the stormchashers so they didn't do anything stupid, just unlucky in a dangerous situation.  Another crew survived being lifted 30 feet in the air then thrown another 200. 

Nine were killed in all with another six missing. 

 

After El Reno this tornado set it's sights on Yukon where the GF lives.  On TV they're telling folks that you must be underground to survive so she evacuated and had a harrowing drive to my place where I have an in-ground garage shelter.  The peace of mind it provides makes the shelter well worth it.  We're all ready for the season to be over and traditionally about now is when it ends.  

Glad to see you survived, hadn't heard from you in quite some time!  

 

This tornado season has been a nightmare for the OKC area. Oklahoma will pull through, again. 

[MacinJosh]

Call me a storm runner. I think it is insane that people chase these things.

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

 

I'm with you on that! I see a violent storm, and I run for the nearest shelter.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

[Kaixor]

Rest in peace.

I'm don't really know too much about all of this, so I can't say much, but I feel like the families of these people should get some support for the hard time that they are in currently.