Unauthorized use is prohibited. Look at that video. In his twenties, he began to chase tornadoes for the science and humanity's safety every spring all over the United States until his tragic death. Christopher, I've heard from their own lips complaints by professional storm chasers about the looky-lous that clog up the roads, so probably both. I'm not sure about your claim that there was not a traffic jam, that conflicts with everything else I've heard. In many cases, a law is unenforceable at face value, but when something goes wrong it suddenly becomes part of the equation. Three veteran storm chasers were among the 10 people killed following Friday's EF3 tornado in El Reno, Okla. Carl Young, a California native, joined Samaras in the field in 2003. (Though I'm not so sure that restrictive law re tornadoes is the first or best strategy - simply ensuring that emergency personnel of all kinds have the authority to control traffic might be OK so long as they are adequately trained and backed up with good links to forecasters.) Then, when the car is done flipping, it gets flipped again. In 2013, Tim Samaras died in one of the epic storms he'd spent decades chasing. Hail and heavy rain pelted the metro area to the point that emergency workers had trouble responding to 'widespread' reports of injuries. This is not an especially enforceable regulation". Today three brave, highly experienced, storm chasers were honored in El Reno. Since then, multiple versions of what happened have been claimed, and as far as I can tell, all of that is laid out in the various comments on this thread. My humble opinions: (MORE: Tornado Hunt Team Takes Direct Hit by Tornado). How did Matt die in Storm Chasers? Officials described parts of Interstates 35 and 40 near Oklahoma City as 'a parking lot.'. This was the case with Mt. Many of us were fortunate to have worked with them and have great admiration for their work. Waiting: Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport was evacuated. Samaras was killed along with his son Paul and storm chaser Carl Young in Friday's tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma. The Death of Tim Samaras, Lightning Chaser. Looking at where he was, I don't think evacuation traffic would have had much of an impact, if any. But telling everyone to leave their homes and drive is not advised, if that is actually what the newscaster did. ISBN 978-1426203022 Did you know Edit 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. Carl Young, Timothy Samaras and his . People started driving over the grass.'. tornado disbursement tactical teams should be flown in by helicopter and then flown out after the job is done, its much safer this way. Also dead were Tim's son, Paul, and Carl . I had spotty phone connection with my husband watching TV in Kansas City, and my sister watching from Edmond, OK. Just as it was coming toward us, it turned south. The deaths of Mr. Samaras, his son, and Mr. Young had absolutely nothing to do with the horrendous traffic affecting other parts of Oklahoma on May 31. They should not drive where they will not be able to pull over safely to allow emergency traffic and other traffic to flow. I've been reading Jeff Masters' blog regularly. So maybe take the time to authorize a few specialists that take recreational tours storm chasing, and keep the rest of them off of the roads. Alliteratively, if you are in a car and hit by the vortex of an F3 or stronger tornado, your chances of survival are much lower. Such a law or regulation could be more general, specifying that police have the authority to direct people generally in relation to emergency disaster zones that have not happened yet. >>> What they're doing is seeking fame and fortune by selling their videos to various websites and television stations. He was best known for being a Meteorologist. He skipped out on chasing the massive tornado that flattened Moore, Okla., because it was too dangerous. So in a free country, it is possible to do as you suggest. The Samaras' and Young were pursuing an EF3 tornado as it bore down on a metropolitan area of more than 1 million people. I do not understand the need for 'storm chasers' when we have the 503 WRS that routinely punches holes in tornados and drops sondes. Ironic how his own community of chasers would throw him to the wolves but won't put themselves in that category. 'We were very concerned this would move into downtown. I am hereby referring you and all readers to the comments. If you were turned away from Main Street due to a fire, and instead took Elm, would the state be responsible when a fire spontaneously breaks out on Elm as well and sprays glass on you? Tim Samaras, 55, along with his son, Paul Samaras, 24, and Carl Young, . They were screaming, Were going to die, were going to die,' Randolph told USA Today. In Canadian County, Okla., where the men died, Undersheriff Chris West noted the three were hoping to help understand violent storms. Large, long-lasting thunderstorms known as supercells are responsible for producing the strongest tornadoes, along with large hail and other dangerous winds. 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." The men spent years capturing and sharing storm videos with TV viewers and weather researchers. I would like to see some repercussions for the idiotic weather personalities who suggested running away. 'Tim was a courageous and brilliant scientist who fearlessly pursued tornadoes and lightning in the field in an effort to better understand these phenomena. That wasnt the only broadcaster telling people to evacuate instead of hunker down. Samaras submitted this footage to National Geographic in the weeks leading up to his death,. 528 people were killed by weather in 2012, of which about 200 were a result of high velocity air. And if people are close enough to a tornado so that a car gets thrown at them, then that might just be natural selection as well. Samaras was killed along with his son Paul and storm chaser Carl Young in Friday's tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma.

An engineer by training, Samaras was known for devising instruments that offered the first views inside live tornadoes. There are places in this country that I have almost no tornados This law would only allow people who "***work***" for the government to be there. And again. The majority of schools are built from concrete blocks that are not reinforced. Officials added five victims on Monday to the confirmed list of dead from the tornadoes and from storms that caused severe flooding: three adults and two unidentified children, the medical examiner's office said. He did not say "don't get in your car" and he did not say "a car is a bad place to be, and if you find yourself in a car do this and that" which is what he should have said. Damage: An Oklahoma home destroyed, its roof partially torn off after the tornado rips through, Salvaging: Residents retrieve belongings from a home destroyed by the tornados that tore through central Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City metro district has about 1.3 million people. Samaras, his son Paul, and colleague Carl Young died in late May in El Reno, Okla. while chasing an EF5 (winds above 200 miles per hour) tornado, which was later estimated to the be the widest . But that brings in another issue doesn't it? Traffic will back up in the places rush hour traffic normally backs up, and some others that usually don't see such backups. But what about big storms that dont drop tornadoes? and help keep the future of the Observer, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our, Dallas Observer's The Morning After Brunch, The Last Ride of Legendary Storm Chaser Tim Samaras. In reply to by Tom McDonald (not verified). His website Twistex has been integral to understanding how tornadoes work and improving warning times for those living in Tornado Alley. I doubt that it would even have a measurable positive effect. state by state the possibility that some kind of adjustment must remain open. There is only so much space to get away and so many roads to use, many in poor repair. Standing water was several feet deep, and in some places it looked more like a hurricane had passed through than a tornado. Pre-school teacher, 29, who lost one of her legs in Boston TIM SAMARAS: THE VALUABLE LEGACY OF A STORM CHASER, Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Dozens stuck in car park as staff refuses to open gate for woman, Incredible footage of Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russians in Bakhmut, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' Please be respectful of copyright. But, since we (we here discussing this) don't really know the laws and how they work regarding emergency response, traffic, etc. In fact, one could argue that a new law is not needed and this power is already available to police and emergency response agencies. Stop having idiots chase things. This report indicates he's more right than he could have known. I remember Pa wearing this Civil Defense helmet and he was chirping on this big ol' walky talky! Big blue trash cans were being tossed around like a piece of paper in the wind. Renowned researcher and storm chaser Tim Samaras, 55, his son Paul Samaras, 24, and his chase partner Carl Young, 45, passed away after they were overtaken by the multiple-vortex tornado,. I've also suggested that traffic jams which could be caused by either of these effects can trap people where they don't want to be and that is dangerous to those in the vehicles. One simple idea was to have either a hard hat or some sort of hard shell helmet to wear. Oklahoma City has a similar population level to Cairns and Brisbane. They are acting in the interests of public safety. The rest of the report deals with how we quantify El Reno, which surprisingly can be pretty subjective. 'My car was actually lifted off the road and then set back down,' Ms Black said. El Reno Mayor Matt White said that while his city of 18,000 residents suffered significant damage including its vocational-technical center and a cattle stockyard that was reduced to a pile of twisted metal he said it could have been much worse had the violent twister tracked to the north. I've had several police hop in my car to look at radar and ask for opinions while chasing because they are not equipt with it. The roughly 5,000-year-old human remains were found in graves from the Yamnaya culture, and the discovery may partially explain their rapid expansion throughout Europe. Like wadded up,' he told the Washington Post. It made all the difference that it was out in the country.'. I don't think anyone's rights need to be taken away Too many people clogging the roads in a chase situation makes it difficult for anyone to get away when a storm turns on them. I doubt it. There is no certainty. the same thing happens every year with both tornadoes and hurricanes, how many people ignore the wanings and do not evacuate coastal areas, to only try to call 911 in the middle of the storm panicking and 911 tells them sorry cant help you. BTW, here is Bart's Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheTornadoChaser. . These animals can sniff it out. How did this mountain lion reach an uninhabited island? We need infrastructure built! This tornado was also pretty unique in that the forward speed of the sub vortices in it were at or above 150mph. But the main circulation was crawling with smaller tornadoes, some moving at speeds of 260 feet per second (177 mph), according to the report. But let us not let the fact that Samaras and his crew were killed in a manner that did not relate to traffic obviate further consideration of the "drive to the fire" problem. The traffic could have been created for any number of reasons. Police have a hard enough time now dealing with emergencies, the last thing they have time to do is stop to write tickets. Thus the bigger the projectile you will make, the worse the fine. Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency. It dumped around 8 inches of rain on Oklahoma City in the span of a few hours and made the tornado difficult to spot for motorists trying to beat it home. Take note at 3:09 - that's the edge of the tornado visible in the right side of the frame as it grows to nearly 2.6 miles across - the largest ever recorded. Sheltering in place should always be recommended. Law enforcement in a tornado emergency already has immense priorities safeguarding the areas affected, treating the injured, rescues, ascertaining what equipment is needed, etc who would be pulled off those duties to chase down minor traffic violators? meteorologist. The amateur storm chaser who was killed mentioned, in the cell phone conversation he was having with a friend (who was in a safe location and urged the storm chaser to get out of there), two local TV news vans passing him. Your freedom ends at my nose if your presence endangers me. The people who drove away did find shelter after what sounded like a very fearful drive. Sometimes, a mismatch indicates the need for something new, like a new planet or a, "A cloud is made of billows upon billows upon billows that look like clouds. Of the 60 EF5 tornadoes to hit since 1950, Oklahoma and Alabama have been hit the most - seven times each. Jim Samaras said his brother, nephew and their colleague were dedicated to avoiding trouble while chasing storms, and that the family wasn't worried about whether he was taking care of himself. So, that apparent fact was part of the underpinning of the original post (below). I think that Tim Samaras knew what he was doing. Since this post went live Jeff posted about another storm chaser, an amateur, who was killed in this tornado. Chaser traffic, maybe. 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. ', Danger: A series of violent storms and tornadoes have killed nine people as they swept through Oklahoma City and its suburbs on Friday, Damage: People survey the damage at the Canadian Valley Technology Center's El Reno Campus after it was hit by a powerful tornado on Friday, Crash: An airplane from the Aviation Technology department lies upside down on the lawn at Canadian Valley Technology Center in El Reno. "Though we sometimes take it for granted, Tim's death is a stark reminder of the risks encountered regularly by the men and women who work for us.". Tim Samaras sits with instrument probes he used as part of his TWISTEX field research program. It truly is sad that we lost my great brother Tim and his great son, Paul. Though the state's transportation authorities strongly advised citizens not to drive, some interstate highways in Oklahoma were jammed with stalled traffic, as heavy rains drenched roadways and flooded low-lying areas. If you are directly hit by a strong tornado, ending up in the vortex, and you are in the bathtub of your home on the lower floor, youve got a pretty good chance of survival. As for highway patrol and local police their cars NEED to have radar installed and they need lessons on how to use it. And we're wasting it on stupid, silly things like party balloons. Samaras attended Lasley Elementary and O'Connell Junior High in Lakewood. Tim Samaras, his son Paul and colleague Carl Young died Friday night when an EF3 tornado with winds up to 165 mph turned on them near El Reno, Okla. After years of sharing dramatic videos with television viewers and weather researchers, they died chasing a storm that killed 13 in Oklahoma City and its suburbs. It may be only a matter of seconds before you have time to find shelter. I'm not saying these circumstances are sensible or humane, but they are the case nonetheless. It is fairly safe to say, that Mr. Samaras, his son, and Mr. Carl Young, sustained injuries when the sub-vortex of the El Reno storm directly impacted their vehicle on Reuters Road, west of the intersection with Radio Road. The forecast quality will always be better than for small-scale phenomena like tornadoes. Thacker, as you might recall, wrote a highly biased article with Charles, Every timeyou follow the motion of a spacecraft, moon, planet or other object through the Solar System, you're putting the theory of gravity to the test. Debris: This aerial photo shows damage in the Rolling Meadow Estates neighborhood on Friday in Broken Arrow, Okla. after a tornado had passed the area, Dangerous: Forecasters warned of a 'particularly dangerous situation,' with ominous language about strong tornadoes and hail the size of grapefruits 4 inches in diameter. Local news reported an estimated 1,200 people were at the airport and were herded to the basement to wait out the storm. Tim Samaras was found inside his car with his seat belt still on. For example, a highly irresponsible storm chaser endangers an innocent bystander, then that danger comes to fruition. Any house would have been completely swept clean on the foundation. He deployed one of these in the path of an F4 tornado that destroyed the small town of Manchester, S.D., on June 24, 2003. Education may help, but first we need to educate Meteorologists in the media, the brilliant minds out there need to come up with a set of definitive standards on what to do and what not to do and hold the TV weather accountable, develop an educational program for the public, but most of all give people a place to go, public shelters or something for safety, if people have a shelter they more than likely wont get in their car in the first place. "We're trying to collect as many observations as possible, both from outside and from the inside. I would say to such folks the same thing a fire chief would say to people who are not trained, qualified, or equipped to study burning office buildings but feel that somehow being close to one would help them provide insights about fire safety: "Move along, you're not helping but just getting in the way here. What if we could clean them out? Or, perhaps, you are driving down the highway at 40 mph along with a dozen other cars also driving down the highway and suddenly you are all flipped. Television images showed downed power lines and tossed cars as the storm systems dumped at least three inches of rain, stranding motorists in flood water. Dan Robinson had a clear view of their white Chevy Cobalt in his rear facing dash cam as they pulled up to and crossed Hwy 81 until their headlights fade behind the outer wall of the suction vortex that killed them. In some but not all cases, this advice was qualified; If you know several hours in advance that there is a high probability that a tornado will come through your area, then it is a good idea to just go away and be somewhere else. "We still don't know why some thunderstorms create tornadoes while others don't," he . The shredded pieces of the car hook to the south then across the road to the northeast: I have difficulty fathoming the violence implied in that paragraph. Dallas' independent source of It still came down to the fact that you have to do what you feel is right (especially if it conflicts with what you are being told to do) and not just become a helpless lemming during an emergency. Biography - A Short Wiki Deadly profession: Storm chasers Tim Samaras (center) and crew member Carl Young (right) were killed on Friday in a tornado that ripped through El Reno, Oklahoma, Dangers: Paul Samaras, 24, (left) and Carl Young, 45, (right) were killed as they conducted research during the tornadoes in Oklahoma this weekend, On the edge: The storm chasers were killed as they followed the tornado in Oklahoma on Friday as the death toll rose to 18 today, Deadly twister: Three storm chasers were among at least 18 people killed following the tornado which touched down near El Reno on Friday. So, lets go back to the advice again. One might argue that if someone wants to drive their car into the path of a tornado they should be allowed to do so because it is a free country. If you watch the Discovery Channels Storm Chasers show, you will notice that as the seasons progress the professional storm chasers encounter more and more traffic as they try to move to the predicted path of oncoming tornadoes to drop data collecting probes or carry out direct intercepts (where the specially modified vehicles equipped with data collection devices are directly hit with a tornado). Flood waters up to 4ft deep hampered rescue attempts and frequent lightning roiled the skies well after the main threat had passed to the east. Just then the power went out and I heard what sounded like a freight train. He gave direction to leave if in the path. But seriously, I'll be talking about the story of the current, In every area of life, but especially in the overlapping realms of technology, science, and health, misunderstanding how things work can be widespread, and that misunderstanding can lead to problems.