RIP Storm Chasers Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras, & Carl Young

[Lord Avalon]

Storm chaser and meteorologist Tim Samaras (55), his storm chaser partner Carl Young, 45, and his son Paul Samaras, 24, were among the 11 people killed in the latest round of tornadoes and severe weather to hit Oklahoma Friday night, according to family members.


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.


"They put themselves in harm's way so that they can educate the public about the destructive power of these storms," Canadian County Undersheriff Chris West told the Associated Press.

ABC news article continues.  CNN article link.


If you watched "Storm Chasers" on the Discovery Channel, which aired from 2006 to 2011, you may remember Tim Samaras and Carl Young from the TWISTEX team.  I remember them as taking less risks than Reed Timmer and his Dominator team.  But this tornado took a sharp turn and caught them.  People may have heard about Mike Bettes of the Weather Channel being in his truck and getting tossed 200 yards away from the road, but he and his crew survived.  (Yahoo news article link has a picture of that truck.)