10 year Samaras plans?

[Jeff S]

Alright since we're roughly two months away from May 31st, 2013, have there been any talks about spotters and chasers setting up a get together possible in El Reno or Moore, OK for Tim Samaras and his son Paul and maybe doing a location formation tribute for him like they did for Bill Paxton or was that more of a spur of the moment kind of thing?

 

[James K]

Back in 2013 I had no idea storm-chasing or any of this stuff existed, but I still loved a good thunderstorm. Kinda feel like I missed so much. it Wasn't until the past 5 or so years I even started finding out chasing was even a thing...then maybe a year or 2 after that where I found out about Samaras, what they were working on for research, & what happened in El Reno.

It would certainly be cool if chasers/spotters do do some sort of get together/tribute (In a way I'd like to go out there & see the little memorial that was setup, & attend a get-together if there was one (isn't there also a twister museum on OK? that would be neat to see as a side trip?)... unfortunately just to far for me).

 

[Elizabeth Andrews]

Back in 2013 I had no idea storm-chasing or any of this stuff existed, but I still loved a good thunderstorm. Kinda feel like I missed so much. it Wasn't until the past 5 or so years I even started finding out chasing was even a thing...then maybe a year or 2 after that where I found out about Samaras, what they were working on for research, & what happened in El Reno.

It would certainly be cool if chasers/spotters do do some sort of get together/tribute (In a way I'd like to go out there & see the little memorial that was setup, & attend a get-together if there was one (isn't there also a twister museum on OK? that would be neat to see as a side trip?)... unfortunately just to far for me).

I agree. I'd definitely attend a get-together if one was being held. Sadly, it's a bit too far away (and a bit too expensive as far as gas is concerned) for me to come out from Central North Carolina.

 

[Greg McLaughlin]

As long as there aren't any storms to chase I plan on being there. I may do another video drive through of the damage path while playing chaser videos and matching the route. I did this with Dan Robinson's video on Reuter. It was surprisingly intense and somewhat eye opening.

 

[Warren Faidley]

I would certainly like to attend. Please make sure to update this post when there is more information. It's amazing how fast time flies. That tragic event seems like yesterday.

 

[RZ Fortner]

I would without a doubt attend if this came together.

 

[Jeff Wright]

10 years already…Super Outbreak turns 50 in a year.

 

[Drew Terril]

Alright since we're roughly two months away from May 31st, 2013, have there been any talks about spotters and chasers setting up a get together possible in El Reno or Moore, OK for Tim Samaras and his son Paul and maybe doing a location formation tribute for him like they did for Bill Paxton or was that more of a spur of the moment kind of thing?

If you're talking about the spotter network tributes, one was done for Twistex shortly after that event. But with the changes to remove the option to manually input location, those tributes are not possible anymore.

As far as any kind of get together in El Reno, I'm not aware of anything that is currently in the works. If I do find out that something is planned, I will update in this thread. Given that the 31s is midweek, I would not be able to make the trek from Indiana, and I have commitments for Memorial Day weekend, so chances are that I won't be able to make anything.

 

[ScottCurry]

I'm just seeing this thread. Can't believe it's been 10 years already. A get together / memorial service type thing would be nice to do. Seems like there's interest here for it, but of course nothing is going to happen unless someone starts planning something. I wasn't chasing at the time, but I would be interested in doing some interviews with people on site who remember it. It's peak storm chasing season. There'll be 1,000 people on Chasecations during that time. If anybody takes the lead here on this forum to plan something, I'm willing to help with the plans. Of course attending would be kind of up in the air; depending upon if there's any high chance of tornados that day.

 

[Jeff Duda]

I contacted @Tony Laubach recently about this and he informed me that he is not aware of any 10-year plans for this. But someone else out there may be working on it. I just don't know.

 

[Mark Blue]

Let's not forget about Carl Young. Seems I read the entire thread and his name wasn't mentioned or at least I missed it. He deserves as much memorial reverence as Tim as he was the captain in the wheelhouse navigating the Twistex F/V through some rough waters.

 

[John Farley]

 

[JamesCaruso]

I would have gone to the memorial on May 31st if it hadn’t been a chase day in New Mexico… But I did make a pilgrimage there on my way home from the Plains on Saturday, June 3rd.

My son and I said a prayer for Tim, Paul and Carl, for their families, and for the safety of all chasers. I found myself with tears in my eyes, despite not knowing them personally (something that seems to happen more often as I get older ). I did not chase the day of the El Reno event, but it was eerie to stand there on a beautiful day and think about the violent chaos unleashed that day 10 years ago… To feel the gentle breezes and think about how, on certain days, those same elements of the atmosphere can come together to produce a two-mile-wide monster tornado. My son is new to chasing, and was only 10 when this tragedy occurred, so I showed him one of Dan Robinson’s videos, right there in our vehicle parked next to the memorial, to give him an appreciation for the setting there on that grid of dirt roads and open fields that on most days would be perfect for chasing.

Too bad there couldn’t have been something organized that day - it would have been a good opportunity to unite and educate chasers of all different stripes and experience levels.

Below are a couple of pictures of the memorial - I love how people left the McDonalds cheeseburgers. i wore my t-shirt from the 2014 Chaser Conference while chasing on May 31, and asked my son to snap a picture of me observing a storm from near Milnesand NM.