The nine casualties from Friday’s second round of storms outside of Oklahoma City, included the star of Storm Chasers, Tim Samaras, 55, his 24-year-old son, Paul, and a 45-year-old colleague, Carl Young.
Powerful storms, including several tornadoes, ripped through the beleaguered state on Friday.
The men died were chasing an F-3 tornado in El Reno, Okla., near Oklahoma City. Storm Chasers, a Discovery Channel series, ended last November after 5 seasons.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Tim Samaras, his son Paul and their colleague Carl Young,” the Discovery Channel said in a statement released Sunday. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families.”
Discovery’s Mile Wide Tornado: Oklahoma Disaster, airing tonight, to the trio’s memory. The special explores the deadly tornado that ripped through Moore, OK, killing 24, on May 20.
“This has really shaken up everyone in the storm chasing community,” Doug Kiesling, a storm photographer, told CNN. “We knew this day would happen someday, but nobody would imagine that it would happen to Tim. Tim was one of the safest people to go out there.”
I have to admit that I will watch any and all television programs that involve storm chasing. And if you’ve ever watched Storm Chasers, you have probably asked yourself if the people involved are crazy or not. They get VERY close to these storms, so it’s not surprising that there has finally been a casualty.
Do storm chasers actually discover information that expands our knowledge of extreme weather, or is it all about thrill seeking? Hm.
Via Yahoo.com
