Three Storm Chasers among 13 Killed by Oklahoma Tornadoes

By Daniel Trotta and Jonathan Allen

(Reuters) - Three storm chasers were among 13 people killed by tornadoes that rampaged through central Oklahoma on Friday, underscoring the high risk of tracking tornadoes and forcing the media to rethink how they cover deadly twisters.

Tim Samaras, 55, a leading storm chaser and founder of the tornado research company Twistex, was killed in the Oklahoma City suburb of El Reno along with his son, Paul Samaras, 24, and Carl Young, 45, a Twistex meteorologist, according to a statement from Tim Samaras' brother, Jim Samaras.

"He's mostly going to be remembered as somebody who tried to help save lives," Jim Samaras told Reuters, saying his brother had done a lot of research and work with probes and other instruments to capture scientific data from storms.

"He died doing what he loved and literally put his life on the line to save others," he said.

Five tornadoes touched down in central Oklahoma and caused flash flooding just 11 days after a twister categorized as EF5, the most powerful ranking, tore up the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore and killed 24 people. [More]