UPDATE: I have a “before” picture of the vehicle now, posted below.
UPDATE2: Perhaps storm chasing has reached a tipping point.
Respected Tornado Reseacher And Storm Chaser Among Dead In Oklahoma | FOX17online.com
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Family members and members of the storm chasing community are confirming that well-respected tornado researcher and storm chaser Tim Samaras is among the eleven confirmed victims of Friday’s tornado that ripped through El Reno, Oklahoma. Samaras was one of the most well-known and respected tornado researchers in the world and had made many appearances on television shows like the Discovery Channel series Storm Chasers and was a regular contributor to shows on National Geographic.
The day that should change tornado actions and storm chasing forever
Update 9:30 a.m., June 2: We now hear that “veteran storm chaser Tim Samaras; his son, Paul Samaras; and chase partner Carl Young, are among those killed by Friday’s EF-3 tornado in El Reno, OK.”
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In the midst of all the tragedy unfolding in Oklahoma, media and storm chasers have been swarming all over the tornado outbreak. I’ve seen this many times in my years in television news: when you are tasked with going live, sometimes common sense gets literally thrown to the wind.
The Weather Channel lost sight of reality today, trying to get close to get the best footage for live coverage, and paid the price. Fortunately, they weren’t killed. Just last year, the TWC ran this segment by TWC meteorologist Mike Bettes, where he asked:
Mike Bettes’s Open Mike Discussion “Storm Chasers, Have They Gone Too Far?”
And it seems, Mike Bettes doesn’t listen to his own advice. Watch:
From TWC’s report on the incident:
Meteorologist Mike Bettes was chasing the monster rain-wrapped tornado near El Reno, Okla. when he says the storm picked up the heavy chase SUV and threw it an estimated 200 yards.
“We were ahead of the storm. We stopped to broadcast and I saw a large violent wedge tornado,” Bettes said in a live phone interview after he established phone connection after the incident.
“What we were trying to do was just get away from it and get to the south side of it,” Bettes said. “But what ended up happening was all three of our vehicles that we chase with were all hit by it.”
Basically, he put his team so close, he couldn’t get away from it.
And, he should know better. From the videos I’ve seen, this appeared to be a multiple vortice tornado, with a central core surrounded by other vortices (typically 3 or 4). Sometimes these outer vortices are intermittent and invisible.
Trying to dodge multiple vortices in the middle of live TV is of course a recipe for disaster.
h/t to Firsthand Weather
UPDATE: Before the tornado caught it, all blinged out:
Image by Kevin Parrish of NBC News
Some call that “rooted” or being rooted in the ‘boundary layer’ (warm, moist layer closest to the earth) whence they become weather-making/influencing forces unto themselves, moving to the ‘right’ (a “right mover” as ‘ol SK meteo Harold Taft used to say) of the prevailing mid-level winds that guide or ‘push’ most ‘lesser’ storms swiftly along their paths to the northeast …
Note is is most often the most southwest storm (supercell) in a complex like we’ve seen these past two weeks which become the “right movers’ … there is often a train of storms comprised of discrete cells that move off swiftly to the NE of the ‘anchor’ or right-mover cell …
The storms on the 31st all seemed to form along an E-W line and moved south in unision, with the lead cell which moved east first spawning the bigger damage-causing tornadoes. All this time the cold front and dryline convergence seemed to be the point of initiation on the most westerly point.
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eric1skeptic says:
June 1, 2013 at 5:26 pm
Thanks for that report Luther. My impression from reading the live warnings was that no funnels dropped in the city but hail, heavy rain and straight line winds were still big problems.
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That’s all I’m aware of, but haven’t listened to any damage reports. Damage around my part of town appears to be mostly from wind and rain, with a measure from hail/lightning.The funnels stayed out of the city proper, as far as I know.
I did pick up a few pieces of shrapnel from my yard- good sized piece of shattered plexiglass, small piece of crumpled sheetmetal, limbs, etc and had an empty planter with a hole through one side like someone shot it- likely it got hit by one of those freak hailstones.
There have been some number of huge tornadoes in past years which have aimed straight at the city, but veered off and flailed the suburbs, instead.
Knock on wood.
When I first saw the pix of their ‘rolled’ vehicle, I asked myself: “Where did they find an old Chevy station wagon to chase in?” That’s what came immediately to mind.
Later on it became evident it was a a full-size SUV, a Chevy Tahoe or some such …
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Well, recanting here… looking at storm tracks (thanks Jim), the 2nd and 3rd tracks were definitely in OKC. doh.
Seemed like the whole mesocell wanted to suddenly decide to ride up the dry line is how I remember thinking about it as it was happening. I haven’t seen any detailed analysis but I know that the left turn is what really took them by surprise. I remember the forecaster saying something like “lookout, guys, this things turning!” to the chasers who copy his audio. And I was one town West in my earlier (going from memory, thanks for the map), seemed like it dissipated outside Yukon. It stalled there, too, before finally lifting. The KFOR forecaster called it 5 min out from Yukon several times as the storm slowed, then stalled, then finally lifted. But they had been calling for people toward Chickasha to look out during the first part of that track, then they moved the projected track north to Moore and SW OKC and finally Yukon. It seemed like only a few minutes after it dissipated in Yukon that things started along the new I-40 crosstown in OKC but nobody could get a good look at it because there was just too much rain and it was starting to get dark.
One important service that the chasers provide in the OKC area are to verify that there is actually a tornado on the ground and to get an idea of the severity. Radar might show rotation but that rotation might not be on the ground. There were several times yesterday when the radar showed very strong rotation aloft but the chasers reported no tornado on the ground. The chasers provide detailed information on potential damage extent and location so that first responders can get into the required areas immediately. That said, there are basically two kinds of chasers, at least in the OKC area. OKC has what amounts to a staff of professional chasers that work with the media outlets of the city and have a long history of reporting on these storms. Then there are the “wackers” who hop in a car one day and decide to chase a tornado.
_Jim says:
June 1, 2013 at 8:23 pm
eyesonu says June 1, 2013 at 9:02 am
A couple of questions, anyone:
Is there a more likely time of day for the occurrence of a powerful tornado?
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2:35 PM CDT in the afternoon …
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Thank you for your reply.
This looks like tornography to me.
There were some chasers that died…. A well known and professional Tim Samaras, his son and Carl young died chasing that very tornado.
TWC is fixated with a culture of “every weather event a disaster”. This leads their workers to putting themselves closer and closer to harm.
Fortunately these workers survived. Perhaps TWC decision makers should consider a review of just what they are trying to accomplish before they cause real loss of life.
NOTE, sad news just report, not sure why the delay, but three storm chasers are dead from the Friday night storms.
James Wesley posted the names above. Here is a link:
http://www.koco.com/news/national/Storm-chasers-among-Oklahoma-fatalities/-/9844074/20391440/-/7i8eh2/-/index.html
“Tim Samaras, 55, his son Paul Samaras, 24, and Carl Young, 45, died while chasing a tornado in El Reno, relatives said.”
Ginger Zee was interviewed on KOCO locally, and she emphasized how committed Samaras was to the science involved, and to safety. She said she was confident he took no extra risk. He was known for caution and missing opportunities due to caution.
Wow, James. Did not know that. Condolences to next of kin, friends, and all that knew him and son and Carl Young as well.
Colorado storm chaser Tim Samaras killed in Oklahoma tornado along with son, longtime [chasing] partner
This is something that the chaser community fears, as it may lead to increased law/law enforcement/legislation focused on this highly ‘unregulated’, unscrutinized and on more than one occasion ‘lethal’, potentially dangerous activity.
General Google search on Tim gives some idea how far reaching his work was.
For more info, this is one of the first tornado and severe-storm oriented websites which has discussions on this and related storm-chaser topics by meteos and long-time ‘chasers’: http://www.stormtrack.org/
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Spotting at night pre-NEXRAD (WSR-88D) ‘days’ put the fear of God in me; when that wall cloud changed shape from lightning-flash to lightning-flash and the ‘brain’ stitches that series of images ‘together’ mentally …
I have witnessed a wall cloud with clearly defined circular (rotary) inflow (literally: cloud material appearing from nowhere and passing into the ‘wall cloud’!) passing directly overhead with *no* tor warn in effect for the DFW area … again back in the pre-NEXRAD*, (WSR-57 only) days. Scary stuff to witness firsthand knowing the possibilities from that point forward.
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* NEXRAD (WSR-88D) actually gives the forecasters a 3-D view of active ‘atmospheric processes’ when it comes to precip-generating and even non-precip generating phenomenon owing to it’s exceptional sensitivity and elevation scanning schemes coupled with graphical displaying algorithms – and this pioneered in the 80’s and continually refined even to the present.
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The problem is, some of these windows get ‘sucked’ out (literally) in toto (rather than misc. debris impact e.g. large hailstones). Safety glass as used in vehicles also differs significantly in characteristics from plate glass used as in, say, residential windows …
For hail protection (protection from), there are other solutions:
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I just saw the article on Samaras on the Channel 7 news site in Denver. The behavior of this storm took some of the most seasoned storm watchers in the country by surprise.
The other problem with the security films is they blur the image a bit. Might be fine for a glass door at a shop, but not so good for driving, particularly at night in the rain.
@Luther Wu and really everyone
“There is little chance of survival of a bIg EF4/5/6 tornado unless you are below ground or out of the way.”
People need to get this out of their head. It will end up killing people. First, there’s no EF6. Second, while you may have a bad chance in EF5 winds, EF5 winds are very rare and only occur over a small part of most, if not all, tornadoes. The Joplin tornado is the worst damage I’ve seen. That EF5 damage was only over a street block or two width.
Third, EF4 damage is very survivable. Most interior rooms in decent structures will remain. Fourth, you don’t know if a storm is EF5 when it’s coming for you. Combine all of this, especially in an urban area, and it’s far better to shelter in place than try to outrun a storm. You may be in trouble if you’re stuck in a house in that small are of EF5 damage. You will be in trouble if you get stuck in your car over a much wider area of the tornado.
I mentioned the Wichita Falls tornado. In that storm, 42 people died. 25 of those were in vehicles. Some of them fled homes that were not greatly harmed by the tornado. I wasn’t watching live, but I’ve heard that KFOR in OKC was telling people to evacuate to the south and east. If true, I hope people call them out for that. It’s reckless advice.
Good point!
These are the same people (the Weather Channel) who ramble on endlessly instructing the regular people to evacuate, leave their homes and all their possessions including pets and submit to local authorities every single time a tropical storm comes calling. Meanwhile *they* will have correspondents strapped to a tree with video and microphone reporting from the scene.
And then their photo-op is inevitably ruined by locals playing around behind the camera shot making monkeys out of them. 🙂
Does anyone have useful information on the actual weather and full damage of the 31 May 2013 storms here in Oklahoma? I’m finding it frustrating to figure out anything beyond the death toll, that is up to nine, and at least one of those was due to the flood waters within the last 24 hours, not the actual storm. There is very little damage everywhere I have ready access to. (I’ve avoided populated areas. I’ll not be a lookie loo.)
Considering that the most careful, most professional storm researcher was also caught and killed in the tv station initiated traffic jam, perhaps we can stop just assuming the worst with blanket condemnations.
@Scott B says:
June 2, 2013 at 9:42 am
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Oklahoma_tornado_outbreak
03 May 1999 was much worse than Joplin 2011. We had fewer deaths, and I’m not sure how, but the $-values of damage were estimated at half. Still, neighborhoods were flattened for blocks wide and miles long. Flattened. Even pavement was chunked up in places. Remember, this was the highest wind speeds ever recorded, over 300 mph (nearly 500 kph). The Joplin tornado was smaller with significantly lower winds. What made it so catastrophic was the fact it took out roughly one-fourth of the entire metro area, the largest metropolitan area withing 1.5 hours driving distance.
We live near Tinker AFB. We had a friend stay with us a few hours until the roads were open. We sat with the whole family huddled by candle light. Starting the next day, I drove to work across the damage path. The next neighborhood over was devastated, and Moore was hit harder. I saw it first hand. I could see across several house foundations with no walls standing in all directions. F5, utter devastation. More than a block or two.
Yes, getting out in vehicles is unwise. All of the fatalities this time seem to have been associated with vehicles, even the drownings. And, yes, Mike Morgan and others were advising to get under ground, get the neighbors (we had 12 in our cellar), or get with the neighbors, or get out of the way. Reports around here are that it was easy until south of Moore, in the Norman area. I suspect the weather reporters around here will not make that mistake again. Note, throughout the event, the advise was adamant to abandon cars and seek shelter inside any permanent structure if a tornado approached. Still, many survived the 20 May storm because they fled. That storm tracked fairly straight. People didn’t have trouble fleeing. This monster was different. Fortunately it didn’t do much where the congestion was. It sure was scary though, jumping and turning like that.
@Steve says:
June 2, 2013 at 10:19 am
No. The traffic congestion was south of Moore, in Cleveland County, south of Oklahoma County. The storm chasers were caught to the west, where the tornado was severe, in Canadian County hours earlier. That is where most of the damage and casualties were. People were fleeing mostly because they had been listening to the reports of destruction and how fickle the storm was for over two hours. The weather reports’ assertions probably had little practical effect, and I will add that the straight talk of our local meteorologists are significant in the limit of casualties. Our meteorologists here in central Oklahoma are the best in the world.
Depends on what you mean by useful. Death toll is now up to 11. The KFOR website has some interesting stuff today including a helicopter survey of damage areas, some video from the day, and photos.
I think this is being blown slightly out of proportion, via 2nd hand repetition and perhaps just the slightest bit of added embellishment on each retelling …
Here below is the segment where ‘driving’ gets mentioned several times and I think it may be intended for that part of the audience already in their vehicles … now having said that, he does at the 9:55 point in the video below say “or get in your car and drive south at least to central Moore …” – is this cause for concern? Listen to his exact words and delivery and judge for yourself within the context of the other warnings and admonitions to ‘take shelter’:
Bear in mind that at this time Track #2 (center track) might just be getting started/laid down west of I-44 and south of I-40. These tornadoes were also not moving that fast, perhaps some of the slower forward-moving tornadoes we’ve seen to date.
Big tornado-track map:
http://localtvkfor.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/tracks.jpg
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