Passing of Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras, and Carl Young

[cdcollura]

Good day all,

I got this aweful news late Saturday evening while back in Denver. Tim was a few hundred yards behind me (Highway 81 south of El Reno) and I barely got out of this alive. This scared the crap out of me.

Hearing about Tim, his son Paul, and Carl - People I knew, respected, and loved to chase with so much, I broke down.

I'm back in Florida now, after a 16 day stint chasing (extremely active pattern) ... My heart and blessing remains out there forever for these three great folks.

 

[Skip Talbot]

I was looking for pictures of Tim, Paul, and Carl to post and I found this video instead. It's just Tim and Paul stopping by to say hi to us on April 8, accidentally captured as I left the roof cam running. It meant a lot to those of us that were there to have this candid moment captured though, as it was one of our last memories of them.

Watch video >

 

[Michael Towers]

Although I never had the honor of meeting any of the deceased personally I’m saddened by their tragic loss. I did read Tim’s book and he was an inspiration not only as a chaser but as a human being as well. My condolences and sympathies to all personally touched by this loss.

 

[brody_clifton]

I'm so sorry guys, for the storm chasing community, and especially for their families. This is very difficult to comprehend. I lost my dad 3 years ago and I know the grief is very tough for us left behind. I am a Christian, and I know Jesus said "Where I go you cannot go" and to the man beside him on the cross "This day you shall be with me in paradise." I will pray for everyone hurting and grieving.

 

[Samadamsuk]

Well, the saying that its the best that are taken from us is never more relevant than here - the risks are there, they always have been, and that's not something that the intelligent people on this forum have ever been naive about - this event isn't about opening everyone's eyes to the dangers, its about paying respects to a great man and a great team, driven by the pursuit of science, the awe of nature, and living the way they wanted to live. A huge loss, and our deepest sympathies from the UK. Stay safe all of you.
Sam

 

[Tim Vasquez]

After getting over my initial shock and posting upthread, I want to ask what we know of Paul Samaras... roughly how old was he? Was he a youngster? A high school aspiring meteorologist? An adult sharing a day out with his father? Unfortunately I know little about Tim's son and I haven't seen much posted, so I'd imagine filling this in would be a great tribute of sorts.

As far as Carl, I am not sure... I am stuck in San Antonio and wondering if Carl Young was the same enthusiastic Carl (35 or 40 years old) who came to the conventions and bought Digital Atmosphere and a couple of books way back around 2003, during the first Denver conventions. I am racking my brain over who I had met but I won't know until I get home and sift through my e-mail.

 

[Nikki Golesh]

I read in an article that Paul was only 24. While I was not close with any of them personally, I respected them highly and was always in awe of how humble they were. I met Tim and Carl at Chasercon here in Denver where they were kind enough to take a picture with me. I am honored to have met them and even more honored to live in a world where they left an incredible mark on the chasing and scientific community. I've also read that services were pending. Being in Denver, I'd love to take something to a memorial for the three of them, pay my respects.. Knowing what a tough loss this is for their family, its hard to fathom how to help. It is pretty awesome to come here and read all of these stories and kind words for them... <3

 

[Shawn Schuman]

After getting over my initial shock and posting upthread, I want to ask what we know of Paul Samaras... roughly how old was he? Was he a youngster? A high school aspiring meteorologist? An adult sharing a day out with his father? Unfortunately I know little about Tim's son and I haven't seen much posted, so I'd imagine filling this in would be a great tribute of sorts.

Paul was 24, and he was a very talented photographer. There are a few photos on his Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/paulsamarasphoto

Carl was 45, so he's about the right age to be the person you're thinking of.

 

[George Tincher]

I caught a media report sometime yesterday mentioning that storm chasers had been killed by the El Reno tornado. I admit I hesitated to come here until now to confirm whether or not this news was true because I was fearful it would be someone I knew. I have to say that like everyone else, I'm shocked to learn that it was Tim. While I didn't know him personally, I was familiar with him through this forum and the old IRC chat #stormchase. A few years ago we were doing special "guest" chats there and invited in a select group of people that the members had requested. Tim was obviously someone very high on that list. He graciously took an entire evening of his time to drop by with us and discuss and answer a whole range of questions about his research, and more specifically, the probes he deployed in the path of tornadoes. I'm sure there is a log of that entire chat still preserved somewhere and I will attempt to locate and save it for future reference. It was my impression that Tim had an incredible passion for weather research and that he was just as passionate about sharing his knowledge with others. And never once have I heard anyone say anything negative about him, ever. To me that is the hallmark of a great man and this fact should stand as a lasting monument to the type of individual he was.

While I hope the chase community will in the end learn something from this tragedy that will prevent something like this from happening again, I realize that now is not the time or place for that important discussion. Instead it is a time for some of us to mourn the loss of a friend and for for others among us, a time to mourn the loss of a great scientific mind. My prayers go out to the family and friends of Tim, Paul and Carl. I hope they can find comfort in this time of shock, loss and disbelief. I also hope and believe that the 3 of them will not be remembered for how they died, but rather, how they lived.

 

[B. Kotcher]

I'd been kind of distant from the storm-chasing community for a while but just heard the horrific news about Tim, Paul, and Carl on the O'Reilly Factor on Fox (to be rebroadcast at 8 P.M. Pacific Time tonight if anyone wants to catch it). From a brief meeting I had with Tim once and from his numerous TV appearances, he always impressed me as not only very intelligent but a very kind, humble person, as well as being very level-headed and sober regarding the risks of storm-chasing. If it could happen to Tim, it could happen to any of us. Stay safe, guys. My condolences to the Samaras and Young families and their many friends.

--Bob

 

[John Hudson]

I was so shocked and saddened to hear about this tragedy, and my heart goes out to the Samaras family and all who had the honor to know him. All of my knowledge of Tim came from his many TV documentaries and articles I have read about his research efforts, and it is very clear that his death will be a major loss to not only our community of chasers, but to the scientific community, as well.

Who else but Tim could have possibly conceived and built instruments like the Big Kahuna or the turtle cams that gave us such unprecedented insights into the science of the storms we love?

Such a tragic loss of a gifted scientist and humanitarian, and his son - an aspiring photographer. It is all too much to absorb, there are just no words.

John
VE4 JTH

 

[cdcollura]

Good day all,

I'll keep this short ... I'm back in FL with family - Looking at life in a different way - My heart and blessing is still with Tim, Paul, and Carl in the central USA.

RIP and God Bless these HEROES doing their job in passion for saving lives and learning about such monster storms. Never forget.

 

[B. Kotcher]

If you Google "storm chaser Samaras killed" you will find clips from many national news broadcasts today about this tragedy. They all mention what a skilled and respected storm-chaser Tim was.

 

[Marilyn Wear]

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.

 

[Bob Schafer]

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