Road closures exist now, but there are lots of roads. That's two more vehicles going into the danger zone. 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. . There was no place to hide.'. 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. This tornado was also pretty unique in that the forward speed of the sub vortices in it were at or above 150mph. 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. 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? If out of the many decades that chasers have been in the field only 3 have ever died then I'd say chasing is safer than many other dangerous events. would have made the storm hard to recognize up close. 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. His body was found but the wildlife officer is still listed as missing. . Just then the power went out and I heard what sounded like a freight train. Police/authority do have the power to stop vehicles/storm chasers from continuing down a road if there is an immanent threat. Like diving into the bath tub with a mattress on top for cover. 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. understanding tornadoes will prevent this from happening. Police urged motorists to leave the crosstown Interstate 40 and seek a safe place. Anything else is just going to lead to panic like the panic that killed people on the 31st. Or was it a rotating thunderstorm (a supercell) with small- to moderate-sized tornadoes swirling about one another? 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. They look up that license plate in the DMV database and conveniently send the summons to you in the mail. The last people out will be stuck in traffic. Lighting up the sky: The storm chasers work was featured on National Geographic and the Discovery Channel as they tracked violent weather systems, 'Tim's research included creation of a special probe he would place in the path of a twister to measure data from inside the tornado; his pioneering work on lightning was featured in the August 2012 issue of National Geographic magazine. 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. 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. Storm chaser Tim Samaras died Friday doing the work that made him so well-known: following tornadoes. Reed Timmer and Sean Casey and their crews modified vehicles that successfully survived being in powerful tornados (for Mythbusters fans, you may have seen these two teams vehicles go head to head with a jet engine to see how they would survive tornado strength winds on the episode Storm Chasing Myths). Oklahoma wasn't the only state hit by violent weather Friday night. I have lived in the Oklahoma City area for 37 years and have been professionally chasing storms for the last 18 years. 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. The Weather Channel's severe weather expert, Dr. Greg Forbes, knew Tim personally. 'I started seeing power flashes to the north, and I said "screw this." He set a world record in 2003 which still stands today when he recorded an 100 millibar pressure drop from an F-4 tornado. Long COVID patients turn to unproven treatments, Why evenings can be harder on people with dementia, This disease often goes under-diagnosedunless youre white, This sacred site could be Georgias first national park, See glow-in-the-dark mushrooms in Brazils other rainforest, 9 things to know about Holi, Indias most colorful festival, Anyone can discover a fossil on this beach. In reply to by Tom McDonald (not verified). Tim shared data and results. More than half of those were people who had been cut or pierced. A finite resource. He turned and saw at me peering up from the basement steps! The article was entitled, disturbingly, Scientists, Give Up Your Emails. 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. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Another example of this on a NATIONAL level and not just a local level is Season 5 episode 6 of Storm Chasers (The discovery channel show that followed three chaser groups) where Joel Taylor, Reed Timmer, and Chris Chittick all call friends and family on their cellphones advising them to drive away from Yukon, OK and Norman, OK. Actually pointing those in Yukon into the path of the Pidemont, OK tornado. The tragic circumstances that caused the deaths of Tim and Paul Samaras and Carl Young has been well documented. But if the Acme Office Building, on Main Street, is on fire, broken glass is blowing out of windows and fire trucks and other emergency vehicles are trying to gain access to the building and nearby fire hydrants, and ambulances are trying to get in to pick up injured, and out to bring them to hospitals, you cant walk down Main Street. The last time we had a tornado warning where I live (July 2008), several people who work in my building actually went outside to look; luckily, the tornado never came close to us, because it was the worst one in state history (it was an EF-3 that had a 50 mile ground track). Officials described parts of Interstates 35 and 40 near Oklahoma City as 'a parking lot.'. Ironic how his own community of chasers would throw him to the wolves but won't put themselves in that category. In St. Charles County, at least 71 homes were heavily damaged and 100 had slight to moderate damage, county spokeswoman Colene McEntee said. It isn't just the clouds that appear smooth, but aren't if you zoom in close. I dont think there has been a single case (correct me if im wrong) of external injury or property damage due to a chasers car getting picked up by a tornado. 'If you live in downtown Oklahoma City, please go below ground. That would stop several people right there. I remember Pa wearing this Civil Defense helmet and he was chirping on this big ol' walky talky! The Friday storm, however, brought with it much more severe flooding. Vented to the atmosphere, it eventually makes its way to the exosphere and is light enough to escape to space. I answered in good faith. Since this post went live Jeff posted about another storm chaser, an amateur, who was killed in this tornado. Even if the people who are at risk of vehicular projectiles are innocent bystanders, chances are they're at more risk from the tornado than the cars in them. 'There is very low visibility with the heavy rain so we're having trouble getting around. Many still believe mountains and rivers save towns. It's your life so guard it like you own it. The men worked as a team and Tim Samaras had received 18 grants from the National Geographic Society for work in the field. His graduation was at Alameda International High School in 1976. 'My car was actually lifted off the road and then set back down,' Ms Black said. An outright ban is prolly a bad idear too. 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. A total of five tornadoes struck the Oklahoma City metro area, the National Weather Service said. Emergency officials reported numerous injuries in the area along I-40, and Randolph said there were toppled and wrecked cars littering the area. He gave direction to leave if in the path. 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. Because of your action, your car has become a very large and dangerous projectile. During the United States tornado season, it seems that we experience repeated tornadoes and other severe storms in a given area over several days. When does spring start? 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). 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. '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. You're an excellent writer. Tim Samaras, 55, his son Paul, 24, and crew member Carl Young, 45, died in El Reno on Friday They were heard on Oklahoma Highway Patrol radio screaming before they were killed The elder Samaras was. Anyone can be wrong and that includes forcasters on tv, government and business emergency policies. "We still don't know why some thunderstorms create tornadoes while others don't," he told National Geographic last month. Emergency officials reported that numerous injuries occurred in the area along I-40, and said the storm's victims were mostly in cars. Closing all of them strains law enforcement. 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. I also think its called natural selection. I've had grown adults that have lived in Oklahoma their entire lives ask me what the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning is. Then we get the micro information they are hunting, reliably and in a timely manner. I'm Sooner born and Sooner bred and I learned early that a car is one of the most dangerous places to be in a tornado. 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." But, I suspect I know why you proposed that idea. Discovery says it has been updated with 'Stormchasers' footage of the researchers. Say you are sitting in your home and you know there is a tornado coming and you are watching TV and the following breathless reporting is happening. Public safety officials have the right and responsibility to restrict access to Main Street and areas nearby in order to save lives and property. There are too many chasers/gawkers on the road these days.get use to it and prepare for it. It may be only a matter of seconds before you have time to find shelter. Hopefully, that lesson will be learned immediately. And, just like a tornado, the last place you want to be caught in a fire is in your car. I hope that newscasters are better informed about the advice they should give and that this tragedy is never repeated. It encouraged all, including the media and amateurs, to chase safely to avoid a repeat of Friday's deaths. Shooting tournament: People search a field for guns near a destroyed RV at a state shooting tournament that was destroyed in El Reno, Weapons displaced: Shotguns recovered from a field lay against a overturned trailor at a state shooting tournament that was destroyed in El Reno, Devastation: When the storm passed between El Reno and Yukon, it barreled right down Interstate 40 for more than two miles, ripping billboards down to twisted metal frames. Also, read the wikipedia on Tim Samaras for more details, and watch this YouTube video (embedded below as well). 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. Their car was found. The forecast quality will always be better than for small-scale phenomena like tornadoes. But yes, I agree that people deliberately in the wrong place at the wrong time should be penalized. Not only are rubberneckers prohibited from fire danger areas, even people who live in the area are prohibited from access. Tim Samaras sits with instrument probes he used as part of his TWISTEX field research program. Regarding emotional tragedy and responding to the thing that caused the emotional strategy, no, you've got that wrong. 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. It is not like the Tornadoes have a rule book that if we follow we are safe. I refer you'all to this: http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/06/19/pilger_nebraska_torn, I think the only thing storm chasers should do is be apart of the new pioneering field of tornado disbursement, its a idea I had years back in the field of weather modification using scaled up drone quad copters to deliver large quantities of helium gas to new forming tornadoes. from a major non profit, click through the the X Blog to read the press release. 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. Or, amateurs could get to a good viewing area well ahead of anticipated severe weather, and then stay put and off the road. 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 the case of the El Reno tornado, traffic in combination with road bottlenecks (over a river) did in fact cause a number of storm chasers (and go watch the video to get an idea of how many storm chasers there were!) October 31st 2015, 7:11 PM PDT. Two other victims were found in a car in Union City, another was found on a road in El Reno. A new book chronicles his harrowing last days Maya Wei-Haas April 4, 2018 The tornado that touched down near El. 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). Why are you so quick to blame the TV and not the idiots living in the heart of tornado alley who chose to get in a car when they knew there were already tornadoes in the area? Violent weather also moved through the St. Louis area. With the severe weather knocking out power to nearly 120,000 customers in Oklahoma, according to electricity provider OG&E. A two-and-a-half mile wide tornado would not look like a tornado to a lot of people, Smith said. Among the injured was a meteorologist from The Weather Channel. She quickly regretted it. I did not make the argument that storm chasers cause cars to fly through the air and hurt people (though that could happen) I made the argument that amateurs who are just out to see the tornado jam traffic this is not something I've discovered, it is something that professional storm chasers have claimed to be true. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous. They can't have this, because the traffic is a factor, but yes, Samaras and his crew were not killed this way. One is that people may have been encouraged via chatter in a number of places to use "driving away" as their strategy for getting away from this particular tornado. I'm not saying I agree with it, but this is not something he suddenly started doing. 2006-2020 Science 2.0. 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. 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. Now that would be an effective law.
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