Why is it these days that every time someone dies someone wants to make a new law restricting freedom? Mike Bettes, a member of the Weather Channel Tornado Hunt Team, was driving in his SUV when it was picked up and thrown 200 yards by the monster rain-wrapped tornado near El Reno. I've always been told never to try and outrun a tornado, it is one of the most dangerous things you can do. But, since we (we here discussing this) don't really know the laws and how they work regarding emergency response, traffic, etc. 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 observes a blackening sky in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. Following their passion: Storm chasers Tim Samaras (right), his son Paul Samaras (left) and Carl Young (second left) were killed on Friday by a tornado. 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. 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. Pre-school teacher, 29, who lost one of her legs in Boston TIM SAMARAS: THE VALUABLE LEGACY OF A STORM CHASER, Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Dozens stuck in car park as staff refuses to open gate for woman, Incredible footage of Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russians in Bakhmut, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' Oklahoma City has a similar population level to Cairns and Brisbane. (MORE: Reaction from Dr. Jeff Masters of Weather Underground). I'm not saying I agree with it, but this is not something he suddenly started doing. Actually there were other comments that could even make an above ground room safer. Plan for a lifetime, like I did. One simple idea was to have either a hard hat or some sort of hard shell helmet to wear. He set a world record in 2003 which still stands today when he recorded an 100 millibar pressure drop from an F-4 tornado. Or was it a rotating thunderstorm (a supercell) with small- to moderate-sized tornadoes swirling about one another? Missouri and Illinois around St. Louis were also hit by 12 tornadoes, at least 100 people are injured and 'numerous homes' have been damaged. Closing all of them strains law enforcement. 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. This storm changed track. Some of my colleagues stayed, where there is a basement. But telling everyone to leave their homes and drive is not advised, if that is actually what the newscaster did. Early aerial images of the storm's damage showed groups of homes with porches ripped away, roofs torn off and piles of splintered wood scattered across the ground for blocks. Not to mention what small town or rural county has the manpower to do so when budgets are stretched so thin? Samaras attended Lasley Elementary and O'Connell Junior High in Lakewood. Enforcement is difficult, but not impossible. [sic] I look at it that he is in the 'big tornado in the sky'. I started driving on the shoulder. They eventually revised this policy I'm assuming based on what has happened to folks in their stores during a bad storm. Injuries that were INCOMPATIBLE WITH LIFE. In Missouri three people died in three counties after rivers rose to dangerous levels, and in Arkansas a sheriff was killed by flooding in Scott County on Friday. Why not outlaw sky diving too? Three veteran storm chasers were among the 10 people killed, Dallas Area Storms Cause Power Transformer To Explode. Unless you wish to legislate God, I recommend you rethink your proposal. Note the comments that 22% of the fatalities at Tuscalousa were head injuries and in general a majority of tornado fatalities where head injuries. 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. 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. "Samaras was a respected tornado researcher and friend who brought to the field a unique portfolio of expertise in engineering, science, writing and videography," the center's statement said. I'll take my chances sheltering in place, thank you. 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. Storm chasers should absolutely pull off the road and yield to emergency vehicles as well as people trying to escape. This is an enormous loss for his family, his wide circle of friends and colleagues and National Geographic.'. In 2013, Tim Samaras died in one of the epic storms he'd spent decades chasing. That would also be my preference, so we are in agreement. 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). The sudden acceleration to NE caught several folks by surprise. I remember Pa wearing this Civil Defense helmet and he was chirping on this big ol' walky talky! Regarding emotional tragedy and responding to the thing that caused the emotional strategy, no, you've got that wrong. ", Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. 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. >>> What they're doing is seeking fame and fortune by selling their videos to various websites and television stations. 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). Smith said the storms 2.6-mile path besting a record set in 2004 in Hallam, Neb. :) 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. For example, it used to be hard to catch motorists running red lights in NYC. But the main circulation was crawling with smaller tornadoes, some moving at speeds of 260 feet per second (177 mph), according to the report. "This is a very sad day for the meteorological community and the families of our friends lost. 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. Yes, they died, but there is ZERO evidence this law, if passed, would have prevented even one of them. Samaras was killed along with his son Paul and storm chaser Carl Young in Friday's tornado. Salvaging: A chef at Gilmore's Kitchen at the OKC-West Stockyards, is framed by the kitchen pass-through window on the only kitchen wall still remaining as he checks tornado damage in El Reno, Childcare center: The devastation caused by Friday's storms included a wind turbine blade crashing into a daycare center, fortunately no children were inside, Remains: A man looks for items in what is left of a house in El Reno, Oklahoma on Saturday, Damage: A family inspect the office of what is left of the livestock auction business near El Reno, Oklahoma. Officials in St. Charles County also reported that local schools suffered some damage. 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. His pioneering work included the development of probes which when left in the path of a tornado, can measure pressure drops. Shelters up the price of homes, making homes much less affordable for many people. They all unfortunately passed away but doing what they LOVED. 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. 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. Hoadley has been in the business for 57 years and pursued the El Reno twister. In fact, one could argue that a new law is not needed and this power is already available to police and emergency response agencies. So, regarding the question of traffic: first, I know. Hail and high winds were the chief threat, though a tornado could not be ruled out, forecasters said. He gave direction to leave if in the path. Northeast of St. Louis and across the Mississippi River, the city of Roxana was hit by an EF3 tornado, but National Weather Service meteorologist Jayson Gosselin said it wasn't clear whether the damage in both states came from the same EF3 twister or separate ones. What's eerie is that the subvortex becomes stationary on the road, like it chose to stop right on top of them. 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. 2) "But the hundreds, or even thousands of non-professional storm chasers are probably not contributing to the science of tornadoes and tornado safety." It encouraged all, including the media and amateurs, to chase safely to avoid a repeat of Friday's deaths. 'The fact that it could happen to someone like Tim, it could happen to me, it could happen to anybody. There was no place to hide.'. Probably many thing contributed to what happened. 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. 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. I doubt it. Flash flooding accounted for some of the deaths, such as that of a 65-year-old man who died on Saturday when his car drove off a damaged bridge in eastern Oklahoma County. We all see our own causes as noble don't we? When told to seek shelter, many ventured out and snarled traffic across the metro area - perhaps remembering the damage from May 20. The news comes as the death toll from Friday's tornadoes and storms in Oklahoma has risen to 18 people, including six children and 12 adults, the Oklahoma chief medical examiner said on Monday. The spot a few yards off Reuter Road where the body of Tim Samaras was found inside the crushed vehicle (his son. It is not inforceable. Run them through the DMV and send out those tickets. If you want to walk down Main Street, in downtown America, you can do that, because it is America. His graduation was at Alameda International High School in 1976. 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. Its very scary I dont think a normal person can fathom just how scary. My humble opinions: 'The trees were leaning literally to the ground. The US has several cities along hurricane prone coasts which are larger (including Houston, Miami, and New York). I doubt that it would even have a measurable positive effect. 'That's a very unwise thing to do because it's the absolute worst place you can be during a tornado.'. Join the Observer community and help support I don't think the scientists who died in this storm would agree with you on that. I would just add that other media outlets had apparently been talking about "outrunning" as a strategy for a couple of days before this particular tornado, so the idea was perhaps already in people's minds. The people could be driving for many unattributed reasons. The EF5 storm that hit Moore decimated neighborhoods. On one hand, there's a robust set of predictions for what the behavioral motion of these bodies ought to be, while on the other there's what we actually observe. I will not comment at all in regardess to the death of Tim, Carl, or Paul, as they were close personal friends of mine and I am not reading to speak on that subject currently. At the end of the day this is just a silly notion. " "They put themselves in harm's way so that they can educate the public about the destructive power of these storms," he said. Today three brave, highly experienced, storm chasers were honored in El Reno. For those suggesting regulation on storm chasing. CBS from Dallas agrees with Dorothy from KC and OL from OKC. It needs to be taught in public schools, teachers also need to take these courses. 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. Samaras' car was perhaps too slow and too light, and the road was not amenable to fast driving. It truly is sad that we lost my great brother Tim and his great son, Paul. I don't know what Reed has ever done for science with his stuff. Not according to biology or history. However, the men's deaths have shone a spotlight on the dangers of storm chasing. Violent weather also moved through the St. Louis area. 528 people were killed by weather in 2012, of which about 200 were a result of high velocity air. Also, read the wikipedia on Tim Samaras for more details, and watch this YouTube video (embedded below as well). 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. As you come closer to a cloud you don't get something smooth, but irregularities at a smaller scale." 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. I am thinking these scientists were blaming the storm track far more than the traffic. It's your life so guard it like you own it. Even with interstate highways out of town in six different directions, you wouldn't be able to evacuate all those people in a few hours. Please make a tax-deductible donation if you value independent science communication, collaboration, participation, and open access. I'm reminded of Grand Island, NE in 1980, when the tornadoes defied everything we supposedly know about them. And now 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. There are too many chasers/gawkers on the road these days.get use to it and prepare for it. The kitchen windows blew in and Pa slid across the kitchen floor and we hid down under the stairs! (KFOR TV). Rather than wishing for the cops to block storm chasers from going to work or giving untrained hayseed sheriffs deputies the responsibility of predicting tornado behavior and rerouting traffic accordingly, maybe instead of getting stuck in traffic the next time an F5 rolls through town how's about using that time digging a nice cozy little family sized hole in their back yard and stocking it with a weather radio and a couple of 12 packs of whatever passes for beer in Oklahoma. 'It was chaos Everybody was running for their lives,' Terri Black, who lives in Moore, said. There are many chasers who do stop to render aid and time and time again they are often the first to reach the victims in crucial first moments with skills to save lives. ScienceBlogs is where scientists communicate directly with the public. Same is true for Safety officials and storm chasers and officil spotters doing their jobs. That wasnt the only broadcaster telling people to evacuate instead of hunker down. Three experienced tornado chasers actual meteorological scientists were killed when their truck (one of the vehicles depicted above, probably) was destroyed by the tornado. Driving away several hours ahead of time is one thing, but this guy was telling people to drive at the same time he was saying the tornado was impending! This is my last post at Scienceblogs.com. Can we bring a species back from the brink? Police urged motorists to leave the crosstown Interstate 40 and seek a safe place. How did this mountain lion reach an uninhabited island? Another two or three miles east and we would have been looking at a death toll in the hundreds. We have strong public service announcements for months before and during fire season about making a fire safety plan for your household and how to listen for public safety messages on high fire risk days - and those announcements for the duration of the fire are very cautious about advising people to get away only if it is safe to do so. That is a real problem and has increased over time. A total of five tornadoes struck the Oklahoma City metro area, the National Weather Service said. 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. I have a feeling that Scienceblogs will not last long without me. Waiting: Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport was evacuated. 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. speaking of high velocity wind, that was the sound of the point flying by Dan L. Spell it out for me, Grant. Two other victims were found in a car in Union City, another was found on a road in El Reno. Tim Samarass strategy was never to get into the direct path of a tornado. Sometimes accidents happen. Injuries that were INCOMPATIBLE WITH LIFE. 10th St. and Radio Rd. The rain was coming down horizontally in front of my car. Apply that technology to license plates instead of faces. Storm chasers with cameras in their car transmitted video showing a number of funnels dropping from the supercell thunderstorm as it passed south of El Reno and toward downtown Oklahoma City. People were going southbound in the northbound lanes. 'If you live in downtown Oklahoma City, please go below ground. Helium is a precious, non-renewable resource. . Skip Talbot makes this point. 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. A man's body was found about 1 p.m. on Saturday in a creek just east of Dobbs Road in Harrah, said Mark Myers, a spokesman with the Oklahoma County Sheriff's office. Most tornadoes in the United States are relatively small. 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. Perhaps, the day before tornado-warned storms are expected, you could fly to France, but that is not really an option for most people. Tornadoes do neither. They should not drive where they will not be able to pull over safely to allow emergency traffic and other traffic to flow. An outright ban is prolly a bad idear too. Or, perhaps, you are driving down the highway at 40 mph along with a dozen other cars also driving down the highway and suddenly you are all flipped. The tornado caught up with him and his crew and ended them. I am stunned that that any forecaster indicated people should drive anywhere after 5pm that day. 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. This is a free country, or at least we want it to be a free country, and being able to freely travel on public thoroughfares is part of that. So, lets go back to the advice again. The elder Samaras' body was still belted into their Chevrolet Cobalt, which was found on an unimproved county road parallel to Interstate 40. Oklahoma County sheriff's office has identified the victim as James Talbert, according to NewsOk. 'For reasons that are not clear to me, more people took to the roads, more than we expected. 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. The last people out will be stuck in traffic. It's even worse if you are an amateur tornado chasing on your own--at least the tour groups have an experienced person to warn them that the tornado is coming straight at them and they need to hit the dirt NOW! The tragic circumstances that caused the deaths of Tim and Paul Samaras and Carl Young has been well documented. I've looked at video and have counted 458 people outside their vehicles in that small strech of road. Other professional meteorologists, from The Weather Channel, were injured. (Football, Lacross, Motorcycle, Bicycle etc). They need to better forecast for a chaser convergence and prepare to block roads. 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. '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. I hold a degree in atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
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