A total of five tornadoes struck the Oklahoma City metro area, the National Weather Service said. Since I wrote this post, I've received many emails telling me that the premise is wrong, that traffic from too many storm chases did not contribute to the death of Samaras and others. Brandi Vanalphen, 30, was among the hundreds of drivers trapped on traffic-snarled roads as she attempted to flee the tornado system menacing the suburb of Norman. Actually there were other comments that could even make an above ground room safer. I can't imagine the trauma of living through a tornado strike. Doppler imaging pegged the tornado's width at 2.5 miles, the widest ever documented. Samaras holds the Guinness World Record for the largest measured pressure drop inside a tornado. Three experienced tornado chasers actual meteorological scientists were killed when their truck (one of the vehicles depicted above, probably) was destroyed by the tornado. You can also shop using Amazon Smile and though you pay nothing more we get a tiny something. "We're trying to collect as many observations as possible, both from outside and from the inside. It's not safe to get out and drive, but I can tell you from having lived in Oklahoma for 37 years, people drive away from tornadoes on a regular basis. 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. In 2013, Tim Samaras died in one of the epic storms he'd spent decades chasing. People who tried to get away in their cars faced potential dangers from flash flood waters as well as tornado-force winds. But once your car is inside an F3 or F4 tornado, that is no longer your problem alone. ScienceBlogs is where scientists communicate directly with the public. Not to mention what small town or rural county has the manpower to do so when budgets are stretched so thin? independent local journalism in Dallas. On May 13, 2012 Norman PD blocked off roads and literally put me in the path of the tornado. It seems to me that we should be collecting equivalent data from storms that do and storms that do not drop tornadoes, because, after all, one of the things we want to know more about is the difference between those two types of storms. The last people out will be stuck in traffic. The fact of the matter is, you just never know where they're going to hit. What was that point that I missed? The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Rather, they are jamming roads in the very places where a traffic jam can be deadly if a tornado happens to pass over the gaggle of cars stuck in place. 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. 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. With all due respect, the citizens of tornado alley, especially Oklahoma, need to better educate themselves on severe weather. If you live there, there should be no excuseyour life depends on your knowledge. 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. The sudden acceleration to NE caught several folks by surprise. There was no place to hide.. But telling everyone to leave their homes and drive is not advised, if that is actually what the newscaster did. 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. Lucky escape: A meteorologist from The Weather Channel was injured after his car (seen here) was thrown 200 yards by the storm, Waterway: A man uses a jetski to travel between his home and Osage City, after Missouri was affected by severe flooding, Storm damage: Navy veterans inspect the washed out road where they pulled a woman and her daughter to safety after their car flooded, A family in El Reno, Oklahoma inspect what is left of their home after Friday night's tornadoes battered the local area, Rain: Parts of Oklahoma City experience extreme flooding after multiple tornadoes passed through Central Oklahoma, For more videos, please go to the Long Center Austin. This is an . But that brings in another issue doesn't it? The fact that they endangered something itself is a thing. -Benoit Mandelbrot None of those fancy schemes work. He knew what to look for. The authors conclude, "it is likely that no clear direction to safety was apparent.". A finite resource. Inside was Tim Samaras, one of the country's most respected tornado scientists, who had built his career by placing sophisticated probes in the paths of oncoming tornadoes. But forecasters could pinpoint a relatively compact geographical region that would feel the effects of the hurricane, and they could do so with 24-48 hours notice. Tim was a couple of miles south of interstate. I don't know what they were thinking in a state packed with cars and almost no other transportation options and few shelters. According to meteorologists about six to eight inches of rain fell in a 12 hour period between 7 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. Saturday. The scale is based on observable destruction, and little was damaged as it tracked through the remote, relatively featureless farm country. Helium is a precious, non-renewable resource. You can read the preliminary version here. #2. the storm went from a mile wide wedge to a 2.6 mile record breaking monster in an extremely rapid time, usually people 1 mile away from the storm would be safe or even 2 miles away but in this case it dropped on people 2 miles away, more so i don't believe it was a traffic jam as opposed to the rapid size increase and the sudden change in course. If you're prepared to fight fire and defend your property you have to be there before fire starts and stay there for as long as it takes. 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. Public safety workers already enjoy wide latitude in the execution of their jobs. The worry soon turned to flash flooding and floodwaters topped four feet in Oklahoma City on Saturday morning. They were probably thinking, "somebody should do something about this situation.". Such a regulation or law would also require consideration of a certification of professional status for actual professional storm chasers. Storm chasing is definitely in the "Don't try this at home, kids!" They all unfortunately passed away but doing what they LOVED. 'It was chaos Everybody was running for their lives,' Terri Black, who lives in Moore, said. They were just miles from the city of Moore, which was devastated by a massive tornado that killed 24 people on May 20. 'The trees were leaning literally to the ground. Tim Samaras Cause of death Tornado incident Known for Tornado field research Spouse(s) Kathy Samaras. Your freedom ends at my nose if your presence endangers me. At the time that Samaras, his son, and his colleague, were crushed to death inside their tornado-chasing car, which was apparently rolled by the force of 200-300 mile an hour winds over a. Five tornadoes battered the Oklahoma City area on Friday, while another tornado hit the Tulsa area early Saturday. Meteorologist Mike Bette is nursing minor injuries after his 'tornado hunt' car was thrown some 200 yards by the storm. 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). I've looked at video and have counted 458 people outside their vehicles in that small strech of road. 'We're scrambling around,' said Lara O'Leary, a spokeswoman for the local ambulance agency. This is not an especially enforceable regulation but having such a thing on the books would probably encourage amateur storm chasers to think twice about putting others in danger by contributing to blocked roads. I remember my wife telling me a few years ago about her retail stores tornado policy which was contrary to everything I knew about safety during a storm. We are part of Science 2.0,a science education nonprofit operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. That sort of delay could have been the difference between the Samaras team escaping and being caught in the tornado. Become a member to support the independent voice of Dallas 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. The men worked as a team and Tim Samaras had received 18 grants from the National Geographic Society for work in the field. So, I think this particular weather caster did come up short in his responsibilities to provide good safety information but I'm not sure that his comments in and of themselves constituted explicit instructions to leave one's house, get in a car, and drive. And we're wasting it on stupid, silly things like party balloons. 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. 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. It's your life so guard it like you own it. 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. There was just no place to go. Plain and Simple what needs to be done now is EDUCATION. BTW, here is Bart's Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheTornadoChaser. The groundbreaking promise of cellular housekeeping. Though the tornado alert expired, the powerful rain continued to hit the area and floodwaters were collecting in the streets. I would like to point out that Mike Morgan, the meterologist at KFOR, did what he's done successfully many times since May 24, 2011. Personally it does anger me when you see chasers, pro or amateur, driving past people who may be potentially injured and most certainly in need just to keep getting the shot. Furthermore only a tiny handful of "trained" spotters have ever been killed either and the only two I know of was back in 2011 on a single tornado. People started driving over the grass.'. Not according to biology or history. And we cannot "go to the sun" or other planets where it's abundant and "scoop it up and bring it back to earth". Carl Young, a California native, joined Samaras in the field in 2003. Once it's used up and gone, it's .. gone. I'm reminded of Grand Island, NE in 1980, when the tornadoes defied everything we supposedly know about them. I also heard mention of a storm chaser who, attempting a U-turn to avoid a flooded stretch of road, went off a hidden embankment and was lucky to avoid drowning. 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. That's why safety experts say you need a plan. Today three brave, highly experienced, storm chasers were honored in El Reno. Why wetlands are so critical for life on Earth, Rest in compost? The rain was coming down horizontally in front of my car. There are some similarities to people doing volcano research, in that people doing it know they have a high risk of death if they happen to be on duty when the eruption occurs. They need to better forecast for a chaser convergence and prepare to block roads. 'The car was probably about 60 to 70 per cent of its normal size because it had been pushed and mauled and compacted as it was tumbling down the road. Until I see good evidence to the contrary, I will be strongly against regulations on this activity. The reason that is bad advice is very simple. "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. 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. Probably many thing contributed to what happened. I do find it sad that that few if any of your statements regarding how the Twistex team was killed was accurate. Tornadoes do neither. 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. As for highway patrol and local police their cars NEED to have radar installed and they need lessons on how to use it. He attempted to take his own life and spent several days in intensive care before ultimately succumbing to his injuries. I'm one state north from tornado alley, and I can't imagine anyone from my state saying that it's okay to drive during a tornado alert. Then we get the micro information they are hunting, reliably and in a timely manner. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said it believed the deaths were the first time scientific researchers were killed while chasing tornadoes. At the time that Samaras, his son, and his colleague, were crushed to death inside their tornado-chasing car, which was apparently rolled by the force of 200-300 mile an hour winds over a distance of a half mile or so, it was said by numerous news sources that this car had been trapped by a traffic jam caused by looky-loos who wanted to see the tornado and/or people sent out on the roads by a local weather reporter to "escape." They were killed near El Reno in an EF3 tornado with winds up to 165 mph that ripped through the Oklahoma City area during rush hour. Certainly broadcast public service announcements discussing the danger of chasing storms. Samaras attended Lasley Elementary and O'Connell Junior High in Lakewood. I was in the northern part of the metro and we were nervous because most tornadoes through here track NE eventually. Also, there are nearly no public shelters anymore, due to liability issues. The Weather Channel's severe weather expert, Dr. Greg Forbes, knew Tim personally. In reply to by Tom McDonald (not verified). What's eerie is that the subvortex becomes stationary on the road, like it chose to stop right on top of them. I'll take my chances sheltering in place, thank you. Sheriff Cody Carpenter and a wildlife officer had been checking on houses that were in danger of being flooded. Storm Chaser Tim Samaras Dies; His Last Tornado Footage . 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. Most new laws seem to be rehashes of existing laws that can be adapted. Later analysis of the situation indicates that there was indeed a traffic jam enhanced risk for several storm chasers, caused by the ill advised comments from local media (as described below) but that this happened after Samaras and his crew were killed, in a different location, and that this happened to not cause any deaths. But the hundreds, or even thousands of non-professional storm chasers are probably not contributing to the science of tornadoes and tornado safety. Tens of thousands were without power, and only eight minor injuries were reported. We all see our own causes as noble don't we? It is not inforceable. Also, read the wikipedia on Tim Samaras for more details, and watch this YouTube video (embedded below as well). I can at least understand why news crews were in the vicinity, but they didn't really need to be there either. Please be respectful of copyright. 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. Standing water was several feet deep, and in some places it looked more like a hurricane had passed through than a tornado. None of them contributes to the scientific research and experimentation going on. The violent winds enveloped Tim Samaras, 55, his son Paul Samaras, 24, and his colleague Carl Young, 45, toppling their car like a toy in a breeze. It was over in just minutes, when we climbed the stairs half the house was gone but nearly all the houses on the street in back of us where gone! There is a large university team with a NASA/NOAA grant that I know of, and a number of professional chasers are grad students at a university, but that is not the same thing. Contrast that, as bad as it was, with Dan Robinson's video from the El Reno, OK tornado that killed Tim Samaras, his son Paul and his long-time chase partner Carl Young. Violent weather also moved through the St. Louis area. So it's quite the conundrum we find ourselves in. 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. Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Betsy Randolph heard the panicked voices of the crew over her patrol radio right before the storm turned into their car. 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. Too many words! The latter group tend to get in the way. He was best known for being a Meteorologist. Countless hikers have fallen to their deaths from cliffs. Yes, chaser convergance has been a huge problem over the last few years. A National Geographic team has made the first ascent of the remote Mount Michael, looking for a lava lake in the volcanos crater. This storm changed track. Even if we could predict hours in advance that the storms would hit a particular county (and as you correctly point out, this is not true--there may be several distinct tornadoes in a single outbreak, so it's quite possible that Oklahoma City and Enid could both be hit the same day), this would not help in a major metro area like Oklahoma City. Also, their data helps us to better understand the dynamics of what happens in tornadoes which can help make safer structures. 528 people were killed by weather in 2012, of which about 200 were a result of high velocity air. "Tim was a courageous and brilliant scientist who fearlessly pursued tornadoes and lightning in the field in an effort to better understand these phenomena," the society said on its website. 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. Also, hurricanes tend to follow predictable paths and show up on sattelite. I realize you say in general terms such laws probably aren't enforceable and my question is then why make the laws? I have stood up for professional storm chasers in this post. As of this writing, the death toll stands at 13 with another 6 (though Ive also heard 7) people still missing. Were all the people blocking the road amateur chasers? October 31st 2015, 7:11 PM PDT. 'There was just no place to go. Tim Samaras of Storm Chasers 5 7 (1.70 m) Born November 12, 1957 Lakewood, Colorado, USA Died May 31, 2013 El Reno, Oklahoma, USA (tornado) Spouse Kathy Samaras? 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. Having been in law enforcement some years ago I don't think you understand how unenforceable those laws would be. 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. Many still believe mountains and rivers save towns. 'They had no place to go, and that's always a bad thing. Chasing Tornado's. It will NEVER happen. People who chase storms need to back off a little bit. The Storm Prediction Center said scientific storm chasing is performed as safely as possible, with trained researchers using appropriate technology. This story has been shared 160,448 times. He earned his Master of Science degree in atmospheric science from the University of Nevada. People who are paying for the storm chasing experience are expecting to do pretty much the same thing. In a separate incident, Brandon Sullivan and Brett Wright captured heart stopping footage of their exploits getting too close to the powerful twister near Union City, in southwest Oklahoma City. Missouri and Illinois around St. Louis were also hit by 12 tornadoes, at least 100 people are injured and 'numerous homes' have been damaged. 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. For example, it used to be hard to catch motorists running red lights in NYC. >>> They were in a car, not a truck. For the record, an "enigmatic" lack of shelter in Oklahoma has to do with cost. It isn't just the clouds that appear smooth, but aren't if you zoom in close. 'My car was actually lifted off the road and then set back down,' Ms Black said. Joel Taylor starred . Three veteran storm chasers were among the 10 people killed following Friday's EF3 tornado in El Reno, Okla. I think this tornado did some stuff we didn't expect. 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. 'What got me scared was being stuck in traffic with sirens going off,' she said. That wasnt the only broadcaster telling people to evacuate instead of hunker down. Dallas' independent source of Obviously it's hindsight now that Tim and his crew were not caught up in any traffic jam and in fact the opposite. I made the decision to go home since I have a shelter, and i was able to leave work and be home close to 4pm. Thanks for contacting us. Big blue trash cans were being tossed around like a piece of paper in the wind. The breathtakingly fast subvortex -- the tornado within a tornado -- is visible to the south in footage captured by fellow chaser Dan Robinson's rear dashboard cameras as he fled several hundred yards ahead of Samaras. NBC News reported that the passengers were herded to the basement and told to put their hands on their heads as they waited out the storm. 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. For example, the requirement to hold a permit to chase could be limited within a certain radius of a city or residential area, where congestion is more likely to create a danger to public safety. Two other victims were found in a car in Union City, another was found on a road in El Reno. 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). All this about tornadoes is very reminiscent of fires in Australia. The elder Samaras' body was still belted into their Chevrolet Cobalt, which was found on an unimproved county road parallel to Interstate 40. I remember Pa wearing this Civil Defense helmet and he was chirping on this big ol' walky talky! However, the men's deaths have shone a spotlight on the dangers of storm chasing. At least six semis on their side at a weight station on I-40 near Oklahoma City, photographer Jim Beckel reported. 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. I'll never do it again.'. Amateur chasers don't want there to be strong evidence that what they do endangers themselves or others, so they want chaser-enhanced traffic jams to be taken out of the picture. So, the driving away several hours in advance isnt really smart, because you dont know that far in advance where away might be. In Canadian County, Okla., where the men died, Undersheriff Chris West noted the three were hoping to help understand violent storms. In many cases, a law is unenforceable at face value, but when something goes wrong it suddenly becomes part of the equation. After 20 seconds, it rotates back around to the south side of the tornado. The Oklahoma City metro district has about 1.3 million people. I could not agree more with the statement in this article saying that driving away is not the best option. Some of my colleagues stayed, where there is a basement. I have not suggested that storm chasing be illegal. Storm chasing by amateurs needs to be outlawed. Look at that video. "We're trying to collect as many observations as possible, both from outside and from the inside. You do raise many good points about how such a law would be implemented, and some I can thing of answers to, some not so easily. All rights reserved. I know this from my own children being in Norman public schools. 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. pauline taylor seeley cause of death; how does this poem differ from traditional sonnets interflora; airmessage vs blue bubbles; southside legend strain effects; abd insurance and financial services; valenzuela city ordinance violation fines; my summer car cheatbox; vfs global japan visa nepal contact number; beaver owl fox dolphin personality . The National Geographic Society made 18 grants to Tim for research over the years for field work like he was doing in Oklahoma at the time of his death, and he was one of our 2005 Emerging Explorers. A new book chronicles his harrowing last days Maya Wei-Haas April 4, 2018 The tornado that touched down near El. The men spent years capturing and sharing storm videos with TV viewers and weather researchers. I live in a rural town in southern West Virginia, however we are no strangers to tornadoes in 2001 a tornado ripped several close friends houses to shreds and they were only saved by using the old bath tub trick. Twistex Memorial dedicated to 3 killed in El Reno. The gas you'd save would easily pay for a shovel. In St. Charles County, at least 71 homes were heavily damaged and 100 had slight to moderate damage, county spokeswoman Colene McEntee said. His video consisted of really high quality camera work of weather and the focus wasn't on him. Photo by George Johnson. 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. He set a world record in 2003 which still stands today when he recorded an 100 millibar pressure drop from an F-4 tornado. Another two sets of storm-chasing meteorologists had lucky escapes on Friday night after their vehicles got too close to the multiple tornadoes that hit the Oklahoma City area. Here's the before photo, of Mr. Samaras' car. 1) "Three experienced tornado chasers actual meteorological scientists were killed when their truck (one of the vehicles depicted above, probably) was destroyed by the tornado." This probe registered a world-record 100-millibar drop in pressure inside the twister. During the United States tornado season, it seems that we experience repeated tornadoes and other severe storms in a given area over several days. They look up that license plate in the DMV database and conveniently send the summons to you in the mail.