Posted on 06/02/2013 9:29:32 AM PDT by jimbo123
Storm chaser, Tim Samaras, his son Paul and crew member, Carl Young were killed Friday in a tornado that ripped through El Reno, Oklahoma.
Samaras followed storms for over 30 years. His fascination with tornadoes began when he was about six years old and saw the tornado in The Wizard of Oz. Samaras once stated, “My passion for storm chasing has always been driven by the beautiful and powerful storms displayed in the heartland each spring."
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
That huge weather channel logo on the wrecked vehicle looked pretty tacky to me. I guess these tragic events are now just a great “branding” opportunity for these businesses.
Bet my insurance is cheaper...
/johnny
God Bless those that wade into that mess.
A jaywalker eventually gets hit by the car.
Although the overal storm cells themselves, and the overall movement of the tornadoes are indeed from SW to NE, once on the ground, tornadoes move eradicately...varrying that general SW to NE movement by zig zaggibng around, hopping up into the air and coming back down. A dog leg of 1/4 mile is not all that uncommon, though those doglegs are rarely an extreme movement. But if you are in the path, thinking you are going to be 1000 ft away as it passes, a quarter mile can be the difference.
My point is simple. It was tragic...but it is dangerous. This man was extremely experienced, and I doubt he did anything rash or wrong...things just took a terrible turn for him and those with him.
God bless the ones that rush into where angels fear to tread. I won't do that on storms. Not my calling.
/johnny
Wifey and I joke on road trips, that if we see storm chasers, we’re gonna reverse course quicklike.
Fine Samaras video explaining his vehicle and why he chased these monsters. Sounds like he was pretty careful. He must have been stuck with no way out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YO1RA-tkWI&list=PL44B8F0D5813C55A1
We were watching the Weather Channel live on Friday evening and two local interstates were so backed up nothing could move. I agree with you, they couldn’t get out.
Or he ran out of time trying to deploy a probe. Or Both.
RIP.
Chasers seem to be better trained than the average spotter. I suppose it goes with the territory.
Me? I'll remain a spotter and report winds over 50, hail over 1/4 inch, or rain over 2 inches an hour, or whatever net control wants, snug and safe. Chasers are a special breed. I ain't one.
/johnny
I hear ya brother, but they have saved thousands of lives by getting in there and figuring out the beast.
That is what caused fatality’s in OKC this week.
They were stacked up on the road.
To be brutally honest I’m a bit dubious that chasers have had very much at all to do with any real advances in tornado forecast ability or science.
It’s overwhelmingly been the fixed WSR-88D Doppler radars of the National Weather Service, the mobile “Doppler on Wheels,” advances in satellite meteorology, and the brute force of supercomputer modeling. None of the above are as sexy as storm chasers though, and honestly I think there’s been a bit of defensive overhype of the science they are contributing by chasers who are mostly doing it for the excitement.
Worst thing I ever weathered was Hurricane Eva, off the coast of Hawaii in a submarine that was surfaced.
Holy Carp!
Man I blew chow!
There I am sliding a round in my own puke and the is making me puke more LOL
Trying not to knock myself out when i slide into the bulkhead at a 45% angle.... Yeesh
Lordy Lordy
No, I think you are wrong there.
The boots on the ground are the guys that collaborate the doppler info.
Some come has to verify the technology.
Risky bushiness, but God Bless Them, they have saved thousands.
I don’t have an image I can readily post, but hundreds of chasers have spelled out Tim Samaras’s initials with their GPS tracking covering most of the state of North Dakota.
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