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Amy Williamson, who lives just off I-40 in the western Oklahoma City suburb of Yukon, said when she heard the tornado was heading towards her home, she put her children, baby sitter and cats in her car and drove away. 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." Tim Samaras sits with instrument probes he used as part of his TWISTEX field research program. from a major non profit, click through the the X Blog to read the press release. 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. The American Meteorological Society has released a preliminary version of its after-action report on the El Reno, Oklahoma, tornado, which killed noted storm chaser Tim Samaras, his son Paul and chase partner Carl Young. Until proven otherwise, I will assume that the special category of people known as Professional Storm Chasers like Tim Samaras and his crew as well as Reed Timmer, and others, are risking their own lives to make observations and collect data that help us understand tornadoes better, to make better predictions about storm behavior, and thus to make better predictions about unfolding storms. So, if you live in Oklahoma City and figure there may be tornadoes coming later in the day, there is nothing to guarantee that driving north to Aunt Millies house in Enid, OK will not put you in the path of one of the tornadoes that happen to form that day. Were all the people blocking the road amateur chasers? We MUST conserve every bit of helium that we can get our hands on. When she realized she was a sitting duck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Ms Black turned around and found herself directly in the path of the most violent part of the storm. Tim Samaras, 55, was found dead still belted into the mangled wreck, while the bodies of his son, 24, and Young, 45, were flung a quarter-mile away in opposite directions. But, I suspect I know why you proposed that idea. Tim Samaras - News - IMDb The tornado was unpredictable. 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. They need to better forecast for a chaser convergence and prepare to block roads. Washington, DC: National Geographic. 'What we saw from the tornadoes that came through Moore and the other ones last week was that people who were in cars on the Interstate were killed,' Fallin told CNN. It truly is sad that we lost my great brother Tim and his great son, Paul. I agree, we only need laws if we need laws. Police urged motorists to leave the crosstown Interstate 40 and seek a safe place. In fact, while writing this post I wondered what the three scientists were thinking as their car, and other cars, were hemmed in with a traffic jam that seems to have been caused by inappropriate reactions by a large number of people. A mans world? Storm chasers killed: How did it happen? - CSMonitor.com The new year once started in Marchhere's why, Jimmy Carter on the greatest challenges of the 21st century, This ancient Greek warship ruled the Mediterranean, How cosmic rays helped find a tunnel in Egypt's Great Pyramid, Who first rode horses? . His body was found but the wildlife officer is still listed as missing. After the devastation of the Moore tornado, many residents who had experiences the storms before decided to ignore advice to stay home and tried to seek shelter elsewhere. Nine were confirmed dead in the Oklahoma City area on Friday evening, though the death toll has since risen, and flash floods in Arkansas caused additional fatalities, including a sheriff trying to rescue people from rising waters. Which travel companies promote harmful wildlife activities? >>> They were in a car, not a truck. "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.". After a large and violent tornado went through Moore Oklahoma a few days ago, several people in various media outlets including CNN mentioned that given the (seemingly enigmatic) lack of good shelter in homes and public buildings in Oklahoma, that a good option to protect yourself in case a tornado comes your way is to drive away. 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. Yes, they died, but there is ZERO evidence this law, if passed, would have prevented even one of them. The result, even in dry, acronym-heavy academic language, manages to serve as both an enlightening and horrifying account of storm chasing's worst day. On the other hand, it means they are intentionally bringing civilians into the danger zone, and these civilians don't always know how to react if the situation gets out of hand. Terrible things they are! When she emerged from the freezer her car windshield had been shattered by the hail. October 31st 2015, 7:11 PM PDT. This advice sounds reasonable, but it really isnt. Academic Postmortem of Tornado that Killed Tim Samaras Is Chilling Brantley Hargrove October 1, 2013 1:50PM The American Meteorological Society has released a preliminary version of its. Further with this ridiculous drive away strategy and the inability to predict small movements how do you parse the storm chasers from the poorly directed refugees? It was NOT caused by a traffic jam. Three experienced tornado chasers actual meteorological scientists were killed when their truck (one of the vehicles depicted above, probably) was destroyed by the tornado. People were going southbound in the northbound lanes. 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. News casters were telling people in the direct line of the tornado do drive south. But then the tornado made a turn and headed straight for the south that people were being told to drive to. Here is what the tornado did: It grew from a big tornado to a bigger tornado, to what might be the largest tornado ever observed with instruments, in a matter of seconds, and it made a fast jog to the right, not an unusual thing for a tornado to do, but unanticipated by the storm chasers. One more thing: at the point the tornado lifted, it was heading more or less directly eastward along I-40 (again, Jeff Masters is my source here). Video taken by a number of storm chasers showed debris pelting vehiclesFriday. This, in turn, would require storm chasers to make their case that they are professionals that are doing something worthwhile, and that they take appropriate action related to their own safety and the safety of others. In fact, one could argue that a new law is not needed and this power is already available to police and emergency response agencies. Note the comments that 22% of the fatalities at Tuscalousa were head injuries and in general a majority of tornado fatalities where head injuries. would have made the storm hard to recognize up close. They were just miles from the city of Moore, which was devastated by a massive tornado that killed 24 people on May 20. I also think its called natural selection. He designed, built, and deployed instrument probes to measure atmospheric variables such as pressure and wind in the path of tornadoes. 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. The spot a few yards off Reuter Road where the body of Tim Samaras was found inside the crushed vehicle (his son. What do you think? 10th St. and Radio Rd. A finite resource. The reason that is bad advice is very simple. Most of the difference in predictability of tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic and the waters around Australia is that the North Atlantic has both a longer climatology base and a higher density of surface observations. 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. 'The trees were leaning literally to the ground. I have a feeling that Scienceblogs will not last long without me. Big blue trash cans were being tossed around like a piece of paper in the wind. What is it that causes some people to react to every tragedy in life by trying to legislate the risk out of living in a free country? You can read the preliminary version here. I started driving on the shoulder. 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. With better data, we could get better forecasts of Southern Hemisphere storms. understanding tornadoes will prevent this from happening. This advice sounds reasonable, but it really isnt. I'm reminded of Grand Island, NE in 1980, when the tornadoes defied everything we supposedly know about them. I would like to see some repercussions for the idiotic weather personalities who suggested running away. Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin told CNN that motorists faced great danger when stuck on any freeway in the path of a twister. But a law or explicit regulation, or even a well publicized set of best practices in the interest of public safety, might make the point that needs to be made, thus discouraging people from making decisions that endanger others. The tornado caught up with him and his crew and ended them. Absolutely educate people on the safest way to ride out a storm. Terry Garcia, executive vice president of the National Geographic Society, said: 'We were shocked and deeply saddened by the news that longtime National Geographic grantee Tim Samaras was killed in a tornado in Oklahoma on Friday, along with Tim's son Paul and their colleague Carl Young. The debris field created by Samaras' wrecked car, the report concludes, corroborates the footage, which shows the subvortex moving across the face of the larger tornado at about the time Samaras' headlights disappear. You have to sensor the state. >>> I support this 100%. It needs to be taught in public schools, teachers also need to take these courses. Three veteran storm chasers were among the 10 people killed following Friday's EF3 tornado in El Reno, Okla. An engineer by training, Samaras was known for devising instruments that offered the first views inside live tornadoes. Plan for a lifetime, like I did. As for the accuracy of the cause of death of the Twistex team, I report here what was said at the time. Continuing on Helmets here is a link to a story on yahoo:http://news.yahoo.com/tornado-coming-grab-helmet-084500057.html. I have lived in the Oklahoma City area for 37 years and have been professionally chasing storms for the last 18 years. Privacy statement. I can't imagine the trauma of living through a tornado strike. This is an enormous loss for his family, his wide circle of friends and colleagues and National Geographic.'. I also agree that people should not be allowed to drive through tornadoes for the safety of others, however if people were not allowed to escape I believe that more shelters should be provided for individuals in the path of the storm. Your argument that talking about a way to address a situation in which people lose their lives is inappropriate because the situation is an emotional tragedy is actually the misguided reaction. 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. How close is too close? The fact that they endangered something itself is a thing. I think that Tim Samaras knew what he was doing. But the agency upgraded the ranking after surveying damage from the twister, which along with subsequent flooding killed 18 people. The Death of Tim Samaras, Lightning Chaser. 'Mile Wide Tornado' originally aired Sunday and focuses on the May 20 tornado that devastated a wide swatch of Oklahoma. Tim Samaras, 55, along with his son, Paul Samaras, 24, and Carl Young, . In the freezer some people were freaking out and crying, while some comforted others and few told jokes, revealed Beverly Allam, 57. Today three brave, highly experienced, storm chasers were honored in El Reno. 'I'm wondering if the tornadoes from a couple of weeks ago didn't frighten people so badly that this time they were taking no chances and trying to evade it by car,' said Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett. Heres the technology that helped scientists find itand what it may have been used for. Tornadoes do neither. Of those areas mentioned in this quote, Downtown OK city has about 7,600 people living in it. At least six semis on their side at a weight station on I-40 near Oklahoma City, photographer Jim Beckel reported. People who tried to get away in their cars faced potential dangers from flash flood waters as well as tornado-force winds. Mr West guessed the experienced storm chasers were attempting to parallel the storm on the county road and it either changed course or another vortex appeared. Pay special attention to what the weather forecaster says starting at 4:35: if you can drive south, anywhere around Whitewater Bay, State Fair Park, the Ballpark, downtown Oklahoma City, southwest Integres, US Grant District, Rose State college, Midwest City regional medical center, Midwest City, and Parts of Del city, you need to drive south now. (approximate transcript). North Atlantic hurricanes sometimes do unexpected things as well, such as acquire a forward speed of nearly 100 km/h (the 1938 "Long Island Express" hurricane) or cross Florida twice (I'm forgetting which of the hurricanes in the last ten years did this). The sudden acceleration to NE caught several folks by surprise. Yes, chaser convergance has been a huge problem over the last few years. Heres why each season begins twice. "We still don't know why some thunderstorms create tornadoes while others don't," he told National Geographic last month. His video consisted of really high quality camera work of weather and the focus wasn't on him. One thing in your favor: Tornadoes do not have politically powerful, wealthy backing, so it should be easy to enact laws regulating how people enjoy them :-), "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. Do not rely on others, including the T.V. Become a member to support the independent voice of Dallas I answered in good faith. Their car was found upright in a ditch with its wheels blown off and the engine a quarter-mile away. This is a free country and public space is public. Published: 23:27 GMT, 3 June 2013 | Updated: 08:30 GMT, 4 June 2013. They didn't happen to be overrun by a killer tornado at the time. 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. In his writeup of this event, meteorologist Paul Douglas made this point: Every time I went down to Oklahoma [with storm chasers] I was struck by the number of people tagging along. Tim Samaras' Death - Cause and Date - The Celebrity Deaths Take multiple pictures of vehicles "in the way" of emergency responders at tornado or other emergency sites. Tim Samaras was found inside his car with his seat belt still on. If it was two more miles this way, it would have wiped out all of downtown, almost every one of our subdivisions and almost all of our businesses, White said. An image taken from video shows the vehicle that longtime storm chaser Tim Samaras, his son Paul and colleague Carl Young were killed when a powerful tornado hit near El Reno, Okla. on May 31. 'Somebody driving along really not familiar with what's going on can basically drive into it.'. But before their stalking of the dangerous vortex turned deadly, their cries could be heard by Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Betsy Randolph. For the record, an "enigmatic" lack of shelter in Oklahoma has to do with cost. They all unfortunately passed away but doing what they loved.'. He turned and saw at me peering up from the basement steps! On Tuesday, Storm Chasers star Joel Taylor died at 38. 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. Hopefully, that lesson will be learned immediately. 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, somersaulting, a half a mile. How a zoo break-in changed the life of an owl called Flaco, Naked mole rats are fertile until they die, study finds. In reply to by Tom McDonald (not verified). Also, hurricanes tend to follow predictable paths and show up on sattelite. I can at least understand why news crews were in the vicinity, but they didn't really need to be there either. 1:50PM. The morning after: Wilburn Shaw looks for personal items in the remains of his kitchen the morning after Friday night's storm that passed through St. Charles, Mo, Power outages: Tornado-damaged power lines hang separated from its pole after tornadoes that swept through central Oklahoma on Friday, Shattered dreams: A couple in St. Charles embrace as they look over their destroyed home after a violent burst of thunderstorms and tornadoes swept across the Midwest, Together: A mother holds her three children after fans at the Barons game were evacuated to the parking garage under the Cox Convention Center due to severe storms in Oklahoma City on Friday. Birth Name: Tim Samaras Occupation: Meteorologist Place Of Birth: Colorado Date Of Birth: November 12, 1957 Date Of Death: May 31, 2013 Cause Of Death: N/A Ethnicity: Unknown Nationality: American Tim Samaras was born on the 12th of November, 1957. 82.6K subscribers Tim Samaras gained notoriety as one of the top stormchasers in the country, and a star of Discovery's Stormchasers, who helped us further understand the science of tornadoes. Invoking the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, a federal conspiracy law devised to ensnare mobsters, the suit accuses the organizations, as well as several green campaigners. Now they've got cameras that take a picture showing the red light, showing your car going through the red light, and showing the license plate on your car going through the red light. The apparent fact that individuals don't take on the personal responsibility of doing the sensible thing is a tragedy. I'll take my chances sheltering in place, thank you. Thankfully, I got out of it with just a few minor injuries and broken windows, but if a monster tornado happens people will not be as lucky as I was. However, people are not immortal and sometimes die doing the very thing live for, you simply can't legislate that human desire for adventure out of existence, nor should you try to. Greg is definitely right about the distinction between researchers who need to be close to the storm to do their research (people like Samaras) and people who are doing it just for fun. Also, read the wikipedia on Tim Samaras for more details, and watch this YouTube video (embedded below as well). And, as I think I've said several time, Tim and his crew were professionals, making an important contribution. Thanks for contacting us. 'We're never going to know, because they're not here to tell us,' Mr West told The Post. Hail and heavy rain pelted the metro area to the point that emergency workers had trouble responding to 'widespread' reports of injuries. Your freedom ends at my nose if your presence endangers me. 'We're scrambling around,' said Lara O'Leary, a spokeswoman for the local ambulance agency. 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." So in a free country, it is possible to do as you suggest. An element. However, the men's deaths have shone a spotlight on the dangers of storm chasing. The Life and Death of Legendary Storm Chaser Tim Samaras Books The Man Who Caught the Storm Tim Samaras was a legendary storm chaser whose work informed what we know about tornadoes. 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. Hard to know what to do. But volcanoes usually give fair warning that an eruption is likely to occur in the next several weeks, and in most cases (at least in First World countries) authorities can control the few access routes to the volcano. Photo by George Johnson. And we're wasting it on stupid, silly things like party balloons. Anyone can be wrong and that includes forcasters on tv, government and business emergency policies. You can also shop using Amazon Smile and though you pay nothing more we get a tiny something. Skip Talbot did an excellent analysis and can easily be found on youtube. He will be missed. Storm chaser Tim Samaras died Friday doing the work that made him so well-known: following tornadoes. But please, do we need new laws? The region was fortunate because the storm touched down mostly in rural areas and missed central Oklahoma City. #1. the storms path was extremely erratic and it made a sudden turn that surprised even veteran forecasters. 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. But that. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman predicted a slight chance of severe weather in the Northeast on Sunday, mainly from the Washington, D.C., area to northern Maine. Are they going to fire that weather reporter who told listeners to drive into the tornado? At the end of the day this is just a silly notion. " Interestingly motorcycle helmets are cheaper than football helmets due to liability reasons. More than 100 people were injured by swirling debris, most with puncture wounds and lacerations, authorities said. Turner High School, Texas Bill Would Make Illegal Voting a Felony, City Council To Discuss Allowing Neighborhoods To 'Opt-In' for Short-Term Rentals in Dallas.