Passing of Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras, and Carl Young

[Joseph Chamberlain]

Rest in peace, men... your contributions to the science of weather will reverberate throughout history... and the lives saved because of your dedication to that science are immeasurable.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

I'm extremely saddened to hear this news. I had the pleasure of meeting Tim after the death of my son, Jeff Wear, who died in a car accident on his way home from chasing Hurricane Dennis in 2005. Jeff admired Tim's work, so it meant a lot to us that Tim cared about his passing and offered us his condolences and one of his fabulous DVD's. I'm so very sorry that Tim's family has to deal with two losses at the same time. One loss is bad enough, but two? OMG! I didn't know Carl, but I'm so sorry for his family too. I'm speechless right now and will post more later.

Great to hear from you, Marilyn. I thought of Jeff as well as Eric Nguyen after hearing the passing of Tim, Paul and Carl. Also can't forget Matt Hughes. A lot of great chasers in Heaven watching all of us continue our journey chasing storms.

 

[joebruyneel]

Rest in peace guys! My wife and I thought you guys would be the last ones to pass due to these circumstances. We hope all the best for your family and will continue to think about all you achieved. Thank you for you dedication and work.

Joe Bruyneel

 

[Brandon Jenkins]

I never had a chance to meet these guys and I will forever wish that I had. I heard so many wonderful things about Tim and Carl, and I can only imagine how wonderful Paul was having been raised by such a great man. Holding my thoughts up high for these two families right now, may all the wonderful memories help bring them peace in these difficult times.

 

[brentford]

I've been a part of Stormtrack from the paper version days that Tim Marshall and Hoadley sent out. Obviously I'm on here too. I've never met any of yall but as long as I can remember the name Tim Samaras always came up. I feel like it he was one of the early chasers that started it all! I have a hard time reading about what happened. It's shocking. I feel like I knew him reading about his chasing and research. It's a sad day for us all. I just don't have the words right now to describe how I feel.

 

[Andrej Matko]

My condolences to their families, I still cannot believe the news I read today. May they rest in peace and continue to watch the storms from another perspective.

 

[Edward Ballou]

I am deeply saddened by the loss of such respected members of the chasing community. Their passion was obvious. Manchester, SD was the tipping point for me to get involved in chasing. I appreciate their dedication to do something that most saw crazy. The humor was there too. I was reviewing some private messages and found this gem of humor from Tim in 2006 when I suggested he get some crash test dummies for probes:

Ed,
Flying dummies, huh? Not bad. I like it. Now, if there was some funding available to go do it..

Thanks!
Tim

They will be missed. I hope their work continues to inspire others to take up the cause - it is important work with great reward.

My deepest sympathies to those who were close and whose pain will not sway for some time. You are in my prayers.

 

[David Rundle]

I hope their work continues to inspire others to take up the cause - it is important work with great reward.

I received this today; it appears that many homebrew science and technology centers around the country are trying to take up ideas in honor of TWISTEX. http://doctormxyzptlk.com/project-phoenix.html

 

[Elaine Spencer]

I'm not a chaser, just an ordinary person with an interest in weather. But from everything I have seen and read so far about Tim, Paul and Carl it's obvious they were the real deal -- guys devoted to the advancement of meteorology but also guys who appreciated the sublimity of nature. Sublimity refers to things that are beautiful but also challenging or even a bit terrifying or dangerous, like standing on top of a high mountain peak -- or watching a big wedge tornado over the open plains. Perhaps, based on what has now been revealed about the nature of the El Reno tornado, part of the mystery of why this happened to such careful, non-"extreme" chasers may be solved; but it will never take away the pain of their loss. My sympathies to their families, friends and fellow chasers.

 

[Shawn Schuman]

I received this today; it appears that many homebrew science and technology centers around the country are trying to take up ideas in honor of TWISTEX. http://doctormxyzptlk.com/project-phoenix.html

That's great. Tim certainly left a legacy behind that ought to serve as an inspiration for everyone who hopes to further our scientific understanding.

 

[ELY M.]

I only know Tim over facebook and I talked with him on facebook few times. I know about his death few days ago from someone on my fb friends list.
I am so saddened. they passed while they doing what they loved to do.
I rather die while I doing things I love to do than cancer or heart attack.
I will keep on chasing.

 

[Patrick Marsh]

All: I have "Sticky"-ed a post with the details of a memorial service for Tim.

http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?29889-Services-for-Tim-amp-Paul-Samaras

 

[Marilyn Wear]

Marilyn, your son has not been forgotten, either. I spoke to another chaser about him recently. It's great to hear from you.

Thanks Bob, it's good to know that Jeff is still remembered. He sure loved this forum.

 

[Jennifer Jackson]

Thoughts and prayers to the families of Tim and Paul Samaras and Carl Young. Thank you for everything you have done in the stormchasing community and for all the scientific information you have provided. You will be greatly missed.

 

[Scott Hardesty]

The other Tim Samaras...

I am sorry my first post on this board has to be under these circumstances. Most of you know Tim as a veteran storm chaser and weather expert. However, most of you don’t know Tim as an amazing instrumentation designer and explosives test engineer. Tim worked at Applied Research Associates (ARA) in Littleton, CO from 1996 through 2010. I had the pleasure of working with him on an almost daily basis beginning in 2002, with Tim serving as my direct supervisor in 2008-2009 time frame. Some of Tim’s key contributions included working on the test program that determined the cause of the TWA Flight 800 disaster, plus innumerable projects related to national defense and counter-terrorism research efforts. The HITPR probes, camera probes, and the digital framing camera conversion were all built in our shops. Tim was a friendly mentor to all the junior engineers and technical staff. His lunch time presentations on storm chasing were enjoyed by all, particularly the Manchester event and the early lightning work. Tim is the one who turned me on to Chubby’s burritos, something thing to which folks from the Denver metro area can sympathize. He will be sorely missed.