Posted on 05/02/2022 10:08:33 AM PDT by Red Badger
Three college students were killed in a car crash while returning from storm chasing in Kansas late Friday evening.
The students, who were studying meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, were identified as 20-year-old Nicholas Nair of Denton, Texas; 19-year old Gavin Short of Grayslake, Illinois; and 22-year old Drake Brooks of Evansville, Indiana.
“The three were in a vehicle being driven by Nair southbound on Interstate 35 when the vehicle hydroplaned and was struck by a tractor-trailer rig in Tonkawa, about 85 miles (137 kilometers) north of Oklahoma City,” CBS News reported.
According to Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the car the students were in veered into the left lane due to rainy conditions when the tractor-trailer rig then hit it.
“Before they could exit their vehicle, a semi came along in the rain and struck them broadside in the interstate,” Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. Phillip Ludwyck of Oklahoma said.
“It’s just heartbreaking to think we lost three very talented young men. Our hearts and our prayers, just as an agency and as Oklahomans, goes out to the families,” he added. “You know, they lost sons in just a tragic, tragic accident.”
Fellow meteorological student and friend, Brayden Siau, was surprised at how “sudden” the loss was, according to Fox46. “It’s just so sudden,” he said. “They’re just gone, I really don’t know… It’s awful.”
Siau added that the three students said they had a good time in Kansas and talked to their parents “to tell them how excited they were” after the experience.
“The university is devastated to learn of the tragic passing of three students. Each were valued and loved members of our community,” the University of Oklahoma said in a statement.
The tornado that the students had been chasing hit a 13-mile stretch of south-central Kansas and caused damage to more than 1,000 buildings. Wind speeds reached up to 165 miles per hour and the tornado was reportedly on the ground for at least twenty minutes.
No one was killed in the storm, but four people were injured. The tornado hit Andover, a suburb of Wichita, especially hard. Between 300 and 400 buildings in the area were destroyed, according to Fire Chief Chad Russell.
Sixteen-thousand people also lost power during the storm, with 15,000 getting power back by Sunday morning.
“The city of Andover will be affected by this for years,” Russell said. “We still have scars from 1991 (EF-5 tornado). I’m so thankful this tornado was not as bad as that, but we will literally be doing this for years.”
Too bad, you really need some training to storm chase and you need a vehicle equipped to handle weather extremes, first and foremost excellent rain traction tires.
Sad typically hydroplaning is cause by going too fast and/or low tire pressure. Whatever the reason it’s still sad.
A birdsong of time
Go to hell jackass
That dude is dedicated.
I've done it....................
I see no need for people to be "chasing" storms and tornados...with todays drones and computers everything can be recorded while back at a studio....
so sorry for the loss of young people but the older people should have never encouraged them to do this...making it seem like such an adventure...
they should not have been there.....
I see it more as an equipment problem (possibly) combined with a driver not as skilled as you might hope. You don’t need a tornado to have a hydroplaning situation.
Hammer, meet nail. And far too many chasers are amateurs who don’t know what they’re doing. Chasing tornadoes is best learned at the elbow of someone who’s experienced and can show you the ropes before striking out on your own.
Had a former son-in-law who wanted to go chasing in Mississippi when I lived there. My answer was no/hell no, because a) He had no experience and I had very little; b) many tornadoes in the Magnolia State occur at night, and virtually all of them are rain-wrapped and c) in a state with lots of hills and pine trees, twisters are even more difficult to spot, especially when they drop from a low cloud base, which happens more often than not. And finally, Mississippi doesn’t have the best road network, so chances for a crash in bad weather are further increased.
As far as I know he never went chasing; my daughter was smart to divorce him, for a number of reasons. I’ve thought about going on a chasing tour (with an experienced operator), but I have no desire to do it on my own.
LOL...he’s probably got them headphone thingies on! Is he ever going to be surprised when he turns around!
I guess I don’t have an issue seeing one as long as I am not the one trying to get close enough to look up into it, but from a distance...I saw three waterspouts at the same time when I was at sea, but they were far off in the distance and they disappeared pretty quickly.
I ain’t chasing the blamed things though. That seems like asking for it.
Ah. I missed that they were on the way home, the thing probably dissipated before they could get to it.
I had the impression they were zooming towards it, all eyes on the horizon and not on the road.
“Intense” / amazing drone vid of the Andover tornado:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT6EnuaiYdE
Note how erratic it is when this size.
Unless the tornado was in Ukraine, you have the wrong link................
IOW, the driver was going too fast for conditions.
(((Jami Gertz)))
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