Discovery channel's storm chaser Tim Samaras killed in El Reno tornado

Examiner ^ | 6/2/13 | SHEILA CARROLL

[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."

[jimbo123]

** Deadly EF3 El Reno Tornado Path on 5/31/2013 *** It was this sharp turn that took the lives of three storm chasers and almost killed The Weather Channel’s crew on Friday. Within the pink outlined area is the likely zone that took everyone by surprise. The tornado was going east and then it made a sharp north turn. During occluding tornado situations this is always a danger. The teams were not aware nor prepared for this sudden sharp northeast turn and they couldn’t escape it. theweatherspace.com

[JRandomFreeper]

Some of those chasers have doppler radar, and put intruments into very dangerous places.

Chasers have advanced understanding of tornadoes.

At the very least, they have proven what is 'a bad thing to do(tm)'.

Some of those chasers have PhDs.

That doesn't preclude them from being crazy as a s--thouse rat, but they do contribute information that can't be gained in any other way.

/johnny

[Secret Agent Man]

and damned if the first hit doesn’t finish them, they’ll keep jaywalking.

[Strategerist]

Eh, I just have little tolerance for the fictions that people tell themselves to feel better.

The idea that storm “chasers” have saved thousands is extraordinarily dubious.

The vast majority of tornado warnings are based on radar, and this is even more true of the few EF3+ tornadoes that cause the overwhelming majority of deaths.

The main role chasers play now is preventing false alarms (i.e. if they don’t see a tornado, then the NWS will be less likely to issue a warning based on radar).

Note I’m distinguishing between chasers and spotters.

I submit that if there were no chasers of any kind for the last 20 years, the combination of radar and spotter networks would have resulted in about the same number of deaths prevented.

Again there are VERY few chasers doing legitimate science; a great many dress themselves up in scientific value because they’re too embarassed to admit (and they shouldn’t be) that they are doing it because they like to see tornadoes.

[InvisibleChurch]

thank you

[Lurker]

We go to the classes at Fermilab every couple of years just to stay current. With that and 3 years working at the Warning Point for 7 counties in northern Illinois we have a pretty good feeling for when things area going to break bad locally.

I used to be the guy reading those NWS warnings. They said I have a face made for radio work. LOL.

[mylife]

I 35 got whacked. They was stacked and got whacked.

It is odd that all the fatalities where folks that had foresight.
They were all trying to get out.
They had not considered the traffic jam.

Some of this is caused by people that shelter Under overpasses.

I aint blaming anyone, folks do what they gotta do.
I know a guy that did this in OKC.
They were all hunkered down under the overpass holdup hands like a human chain.

Well Sir, you know what he learned?
There is a Bernoulli effect that happens when you get in there.
The wind speeds Increased.
A Farkin wind tunnel.

One poor fellow was holding on to his wife when a stone blew through his hand.
He let go. It was not his fault, it was like getting a bullet to the back of your hand.
I blew straight through and she was gone.

They found her body 2 miles away

So DO NOT SHELTER UNDER OVERPASSES

[eartrumpet]

Screaming and impacting the walls of a tumbling vehicle?

[PLMerite]

My theory on watching a tornado is the same as my theories on watching grizzly bears and bigfoot: from a safe distance. (So far I haven’t seen any of the three)

[JRandomFreeper]

90% of the time, it's going to miss us, or we'll just get hail and straight-line wind damage. Not that that doesn't cause a lot of damage and cost money... but it's not life threatening, generally.

The night that Grandbury got hit, the neighbors knew to take it serious when I put my beer and the fridge and put on long pants and boots and pulled my go-bag into the office near me.

It takes years to get a feel for how things are going to go, and even then, the accuracy isn't that great.

/johnny

[Gator113]

May those guys RIP.

[mikrofon]

At least he died doing what he loved best...

No aspersions cast, but that phrase just seems to get overused to the point where it comes off as really callous and self-serving...

[Vigilantcitizen]

Civilian storm spotters (trained and NWS certified, and radio operators) are a benefit to the community.

Here in Georgia hillbilly country...the terrain makes long distance spotting difficult to impossible. Lives depend on knowing the difference between a radar indicated warning...and an actual funnel on the ground. Our Skywarn people have saved untold numbers of lives. Cheers to all our nations spotters.

[GeronL]

ever wondered what happens when a Tornado Chaser catches one?

[miele man]

bump for later read

[Lurker]

Some days I miss that job. I had access to some awesome weather tools including direct access to NWS radar assets. And the comms were incredible.

[lonevoice]

ping

[NonValueAdded]

So would a tornado south of the equator travel from NW to SE?

[Verginius Rufus]

In the 1940s my father was driving across North Dakota when he saw a tornado coming towards him. It was a two-lane road with wheat fields on either side. Fortunately he was able to read a cross road and drive at a 90 degree angle to the tornado just in time to get out of the way.

[mylife]

Correlation Jack. Correlation.

It takes boots on the ground.