Storm chaser Tim Samaras doing the work that made him so well-known: following tornadoes. Rick Smith, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service at Norman, said that while the storm packed a powerful punch, it wasn't as strong as the Moore tornado. One thing that makes tornadoes so dangerous is the speed at which they hit. Samaras shows probes he uses to measure. Using the unfortunate but unrelated deaths of well known storm chasers to rail against people trying to seek safety from a storm by getting out of the way strips any slight merit or credibility from your already weak and less than well thought out argument. 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. OKLAHOMA CITY The deadly tornado that struck near Oklahoma City late last week killing 18, including three storm chasers, had a record-breaking width of 2.6 miles and was the second top-of-the-scale EF5 twister to hit the area in less than two weeks, the National Weather Service reported Tuesday. Dallas' independent source of We cannot separate it from other compounds on earth (like we can, say, hydrogen), we cannot combine other elements to manufacture it (like we can, say, gasoline). Paul is right. And we cannot "go to the sun" or other planets where it's abundant and "scoop it up and bring it back to earth". I'll take my chances sheltering in place, thank you. The weather service determined that the storm packed winds reaching 295 mph. His video consisted of really high quality camera work of weather and the focus wasn't on him. The other victims' bodies were found half a mile to the east and half a mile to the west, Canadian County under-sheriff Chris West said. Actually, to get my point all you really have to do is read the post but to restate the idea: Jamming a county road or a state or federal highway during an emergency is a public danger. The Weather Channel issued the following statement: It was with great sadness that The Weather Channel learned of the passing of Tim and Paul Samaras and Carl Young as a result of the El Reno Tornado. Shelters up the price of homes, making homes much less affordable for many people. Closing all of them strains law enforcement. Because of the circumstances on the two-lane road, it appears that he could not get out of the way, and, basically, the tornado picked up his vehicle, Jim Samaras told the Today show. I appreciate that, it is a good idea. 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. The spot a few yards off Reuter Road where the body of Tim Samaras was found inside the crushed vehicle (his son. 'The trees were leaning literally to the ground. Probably not. 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. William Wehrum is a lawyer and once, apparently, worked for the EPA. Run them through the DMV and send out those tickets. Tornado watches tend to cover a larger area, and the lead time is much shorter. Large, long-lasting thunderstorms known as supercells are responsible for producing the strongest tornadoes, along with large hail and other dangerous winds. Probably many thing contributed to what happened. "He was a groundbreaker in terms of the kind of research he was doing on severe thunderstorms and tornadoes," Dr. Forbes said on The Weather Channel Sunday morning. Nooooooooooo!!! Until I see good evidence to the contrary, I will be strongly against regulations on this activity. Other professional meteorologists, from The Weather Channel, were injured. I don't think people realized how deep and strong the water was.'. That's really all I have to say on that issue. Not to mention what small town or rural county has the manpower to do so when budgets are stretched so thin? The traffic could have been created for any number of reasons. Apply that technology to license plates instead of faces. The authors are Joshua Wurman, Karen Kosiba and Paul Robinson with the Center for Severe Weather Research, and Timothy Marshall of Haag Engineering, a damage-path surveyor from Flower Mound whom I interviewed for our cover story on the tornado. Why wetlands are so critical for life on Earth, Rest in compost? The update from the National Weather Service means the Oklahoma City area has seen two of the extremely rare EF5 tornadoes in only 11 days. 10th St. and Radio Rd. In many cases, a law is unenforceable at face value, but when something goes wrong it suddenly becomes part of the equation. In other words, it is now probably legal and appropriate for police or fire departments to close off roads or direct traffic or tell people not to drive in a particular area where there is currently a major fire, explosion, storm devastation, and so on. Big blue trash cans were being tossed around like a piece of paper in the wind. Do not rely on others, including the T.V. Del City has 21,000 people in it. But that brings in another issue doesn't it? In St. Charles County, at least 71 homes were heavily damaged and 100 had slight to moderate damage, county spokeswoman Colene McEntee said. I've literally sat bumper to bumper with chasers on a five mile strech of road. People started driving over the grass.'. Tim Samaras sits with instrument probes he used as part of his TWISTEX field research program. If they had tried to drive away their cars would have surely been torn apart, and again just last summer a tornado ripped through the forests close to home demolishing hill sides and houses in its path. One simple idea was to have either a hard hat or some sort of hard shell helmet to wear. 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. Anyone can be wrong and that includes forcasters on tv, government and business emergency policies. Very few professional storm chasers "work for the government" really, none. Eye of the storm: Tornado researcher Tim Samaras monitors the radar (left). Debris was tangled in the median's crossover barriers, including huge pieces of sheet metal, tree limbs, metal pipes, a giant oil drum and a stretch of chain-link fence. Samaras submitted this footage to National Geographic in the weeks leading up to his death,. -Benoit Mandelbrot Samaras, 55, his son Paul, 24, and Young, 45, were all killed while trying to document and research the storm. 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. Three storm chasers died in that storm. This tornado was also pretty unique in that the forward speed of the sub vortices in it were at or above 150mph. Writing new laws on the books is useless, even before the news agencies started this new trend which is disturbing you have people hiding under overpasses and pulling stupid stuff, Chasers have complained about this issue for years, notice numerous videos of truck drivers who even drive into the funnel, enforcement will be non existent because this puts law enforcement in a position of risk and is irresponsible, i agree with the tours, but again many people cannot afford the tours that are out there now and so they figure its cheaper to go it themselves, we can blame people for the groups death but the fact is that there were several unusual factors that caused this. 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. This is a free country and public space is public. They are pictured along with fellow storm chaser Tony Laubach, Avid explorer: Emotional tributes have been made to scientist and storm chaser Tim Samaras, who died doing what he loved, friends said, Destroyed: The Chevrolet Cobalt, pictured, driven by Tim Samaras was thrown half a mile in the terrifying storm, Tragic: Tim Samaras was found dead inside the car, pictured, while the other storm chasers' bodies were discovered half a mile in either direction. 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. A small tornado in Kansas, photographed during Tim Samaras's lightning expedition in August 2009. Here is all you want to know, and more! In Canadian County, Okla., where the men died, Undersheriff Chris West noted the three were hoping to help understand violent storms. Damage from Friday night's severe weather was concentrated a few miles north of Moore, the Oklahoma City suburb pounded by an EF5 tornado on May 20 that killed 24 people. 'Some tornadoes are wrapped in rain, so it's basically impossible to see, which is extremely dangerous,' said Bruce Thoren, a meteorologist with National Weather Service in Norman. Injuries that were INCOMPATIBLE WITH LIFE. They all unfortunately passed away but doing what they LOVED. . I think the only way to deal with these weeks-long tornado outbreaks is to build high-quality shelters in every community and make sure people know where they are. Do it right now,' local news forecasters told viewers. The one thing in your article I see that you failed to address is the number of chasers in the past that have been killed by the storm while chasing them. Or was it a rotating thunderstorm (a supercell) with small- to moderate-sized tornadoes swirling about one another? A four-year-old boy died after being swept into the Oklahoma River on the south side of Oklahoma City, said Oklahoma City police Lt. Jay Barnett. However, the men's deaths have shone a spotlight on the dangers of storm chasing. 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. The network said though Betts was hurt, he and the car's two other occupants were wearing safety belts and were able to walk away from the banged-up vehicle. A National Geographic team has made the first ascent of the remote Mount Michael, looking for a lava lake in the volcanos crater. What if we could clean them out? Actually there were other comments that could even make an above ground room safer. The three storm chasers Tim Samaras, his photographer son Paul Samaras, and meteorologist Carl Young were killed when the twister they were pursuing made a sudden left turn and slammed into their car, sending it flying through the air like a toy. On the other hand, if you calculate its width by how much debris was lofted into the air, we may be talking about a mile and a quarter to nearly two miles in width. He was killed because an unusual and unprecedented tornado acted in an unpredictable manor and sadly cost him, his son, and chase partner their lives. More than half of those were people who had been cut or pierced. The Storm Prediction Center issued a statementSunday, saying it was terribly saddened by Tim Samaras' death. Tornado warnings were also posted Friday night near Tulsa and near St. Louis. St. Helens in 1980: some volcano researchers were killed in the eruption, but authorities were successful at keeping most civilians out of the danger zone. An engineer by training, Samaras was known for devising instruments that offered the first views inside live tornadoes. Here's a new law we can make: Whenever there is an emotional tragedy, no laws related to it can be made for at least 5 years. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous. Then he yelled "get your ass back down there, boy!" 564K views 9 years ago June 3, 2013Tim Samaras spent more than 30 years researching tornadoes. On her way home after the worst had passed 'the roads were like rivers,' she said. Belongings: A woman finds personal photos for a neighbor from the remains of her home destroyed by violent thunderstorms across the Midwest, Ruins: People walk near cars and trees damaged by a tornado at the Canadian Valley Technology Center in El Reno, Oklahoma on Saturday morning. In fact, we probably need more professional storm chasers, and among storm chasers my feeling is that we need a better more comprehensive research design.