Storm chaser Tim Samaras doing the work that made him so well-known: following tornadoes. So, that apparent fact was part of the underpinning of the original post (below). A storm chaser who heeded the bad feeling in his gut and decided to hang back that day told me the tornado was "designed to kill storm chasers." It is known to be BAD advice and they directly contributed to the deaths that occurred. Note the story of the HS football team that was viewing videos when the storm approached and the coach said put on your helmet. tornado disbursement tactical teams should be flown in by helicopter and then flown out after the job is done, its much safer this way. Friday night's victims included a mother and a baby sucked out of their car as the EF3 hit near El Reno. Police/authority do have the power to stop vehicles/storm chasers from continuing down a road if there is an immanent threat. But that is not a reason to not have the laws. 1:50PM. There is no certainty. This one didn't. Basically the idea here is that if you can avoid a direct hit to the head by the helmet taking the beating your more likley to survive. In the freezer some people were freaking out and crying, while some comforted others and few told jokes, revealed Beverly Allam, 57. Yes, chaser convergance has been a huge problem over the last few years. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. I have stood up for professional storm chasers in this post. Large, long-lasting thunderstorms known as supercells are responsible for producing the strongest tornadoes, along with large hail and other dangerous winds. Can we bring a species back from the brink?, Video Story, Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Storm chaser Tim Samaras died Friday doing the work that made him so well-known: following tornadoes. The Oklahoma City metro district has about 1.3 million people. Do not rely on others, including the T.V. I dont think the scientists who died in this storm would agree with you on that. I have lived in the Oklahoma City area for 37 years and have been professionally chasing storms for the last 18 years. And, I've argued that telling people that the safest thing to do is to get in their car and drive is wrong. 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. Joel Taylor starred . That is a real problem and has increased over time. Driving away several hours ahead of time is one thing, but this guy was telling people to drive at the same time he was saying the tornado was impending! 3) "I suggest that law makers in tornado alley states consider legislation making it a violation to intentionally drive into or near the path of known or likely tornados." If you live there, there should be no excuseyour life depends on your knowledge. With the severe weather knocking out power to nearly 120,000 customers in Oklahoma, according to electricity provider OG&E. Perhaps, the day before tornado-warned storms are expected, you could fly to France, but that is not really an option for most people. To make this point, here are photographs from major media of a handful of examples of cars that got hit with the vortex, most but not all from this latest tornado: I admit that a flattened house may look pretty bad, may even look worse than a mushed up car, but generally speaking the interior lower floor room in a house that is badly messed up by a tornado is a survivable shelter, while there is no such shelter in your car. An engineer by training, Samaras was known for devising instruments that offered the first views inside live tornadoes. category. I can at least understand why news crews were in the vicinity, but they didn't really need to be there either. We cannot separate it from other compounds on earth (like we can, say, hydrogen), we cannot combine other elements to manufacture it (like we can, say, gasoline). I won't be joining them on the roads. Continuing on Helmets here is a link to a story on yahoo:http://news.yahoo.com/tornado-coming-grab-helmet-084500057.html. For example, most storm chasers are individuals or small teams, and they benefit with direct contacts with actual tornadoes, and often fund their work this way as they sell their video to news outlets. Two other victims were found in a car in Union City, another was found on a road in El Reno. Storm chasers being killed by storms isn't even a problem. ISBN 978-1426203022 Did you know Edit One minute you're sitting there watching TV, the next minute your whole neighborhood looks like it was jammed through a meat grinder. How a zoo break-in changed the life of an owl called Flaco, Naked mole rats are fertile until they die, study finds. A tornado could hit Oklahoma City, or it could hit Enid. Damage from Friday night's severe weather was concentrated a few miles north of Moore, the Oklahoma City suburb pounded by an EF5 tornado on May 20 that killed 24 people. So, regarding the question of traffic: first, I know. 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,. The spot a few yards off Reuter Road where the body of Tim Samaras was found inside the crushed vehicle (his son. 'I'm not sure why people do that sort of stuff, but it is very dangerous. For example, a highly irresponsible storm chaser endangers an innocent bystander, then that danger comes to fruition. And we're wasting it on stupid, silly things like party balloons. Very few professional storm chasers "work for the government" really, none. There are some similarities to people doing volcano research, in that people doing it know they have a high risk of death if they happen to be on duty when the eruption occurs. This spring's tornado season got a late start, with unusually cool weather keeping funnel clouds at bay until mid-May. Samaras submitted this footage to National Geographic in the weeks leading up to his death,. Not sure what happened with Tim. ", Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Anyone can be wrong and that includes forcasters on tv, government and business emergency policies. Hoadley has been in the business for 57 years and pursued the El Reno twister. Inside was Tim Samaras, one of the country's most respected tornado scientists, who had built his career by placing sophisticated probes in the paths of oncoming tornadoes. Television cameras showed debris falling from the sky west of Oklahoma City and power transformers being knocked out by high winds across a wider area. They should not drive where they will not be able to pull over safely to allow emergency traffic and other traffic to flow. An element. https://twitter.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/, While perusing the New York Times over the weekend, I was disturbed to see an article by Paul D. Thacker that basically advocated using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to request e-mails from scientists in search of undisclosed industry ties. We are part of Science 2.0,a science education nonprofit operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. When the amateur storm chasers descend upon the same area they create a real hazard for the professionals by blocking escape routes. Such a regulation or law would also require consideration of a certification of professional status for actual professional storm chasers. The boy and other family members had sought shelter in a drainage ditch. Smith said the storms 2.6-mile path besting a record set in 2004 in Hallam, Neb. Second, the point is still valid. 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. The scale is based on observable destruction, and little was damaged as it tracked through the remote, relatively featureless farm country. Please be respectful of copyright. >>> What they're doing is seeking fame and fortune by selling their videos to various websites and television stations. 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. His graduation was at Alameda International High School in 1976. See also: The Last Ride of Legendary Storm Chaser Tim Samaras). Also, believe it or not, people do follow "unenforceable" laws for the simple reason that they want to be law abiding citizens. I'll take my chances sheltering in place, thank you. They were just miles from the city of Moore, which was devastated by a massive tornado that killed 24 people on May 20. Anything else is just going to lead to panic like the panic that killed people on the 31st. Rather, they are jamming roads in the very places where a traffic jam can be deadly if a tornado happens to pass over the gaggle of cars stuck in place. I would just add that other media outlets had apparently been talking about "outrunning" as a strategy for a couple of days before this particular tornado, so the idea was perhaps already in people's minds. According to his Discovery Channel biography, Young and Samaras tracked down over 125 tornadoes together. That's why safety experts say you need a plan. Were all the people blocking the road amateur chasers? I agree, Chris, that the specific suggestion that I made in the post that existing protocol should allow emergency personnel to keep roads clear. A National Geographic team has made the first ascent of the remote Mount Michael, looking for a lava lake in the volcanos crater. Thus the bigger the projectile you will make, the worse the fine. Samaras was killed along with his son Paul and storm chaser Carl Young in Friday's tornado. In the area of voting, the main problem seems to be the expenditure of great amounts of outrage and, which I've posted on before there are new developments, summarized at Inside Climate News: Video taken by a number of storm chasers showed debris pelting vehiclesFriday. - May 31, 2013 (his death) Other works book: "Tornado Hunter: Getting Inside the Most Violent Storms on Earth". This is an enormous loss for his family, his wide circle of friends and colleagues and National Geographic.'. So it's quite the conundrum we find ourselves in. 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. They are pictured along with fellow storm chaser Tony Laubach, Avid explorer: Emotional tributes have been made to scientist and storm chaser Tim Samaras, who died doing what he loved, friends said, Destroyed: The Chevrolet Cobalt, pictured, driven by Tim Samaras was thrown half a mile in the terrifying storm, Tragic: Tim Samaras was found dead inside the car, pictured, while the other storm chasers' bodies were discovered half a mile in either direction. One thing that makes tornadoes so dangerous is the speed at which they hit. That would stop several people right there. Having grown up in Wichita, Ks., I'm well aware of the unpredictability of tornadoes; though technology has greatly improved forcasting, tornadoes will remain highly unpredictable. Plan for a lifetime, like I did. 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 . Sheltering in place should always be recommended. Gone. state by state the possibility that some kind of adjustment must remain open. At the end of the day this is just a silly notion. " Because of your action, your car has become a very large and dangerous projectile. Storm Chaser Tim Samaras Dies; His Last Tornado Footage . BTW, here is Bart's Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheTornadoChaser. They all unfortunately passed away but doing what they LOVED. When the storm passed between El Reno and Yukon, it barreled right down Interstate 40 for more than two miles, ripping billboards down to twisted metal frames. Photograph by Carsten Peter, National Geographic. The violent winds enveloped Tim Samaras, 55, his son Paul Samaras, 24, and his colleague Carl Young, 45, toppling their car like a toy in a breeze. 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). This would make it so a chaser has to stop to render aid along his path. Or, amateurs could get to a good viewing area well ahead of anticipated severe weather, and then stay put and off the road.