Meteorologist injured trying to outrun Oklahoma tornado

NEWYORK— The next time meteorologist Mike Bettes talks about the power of tornadoes on The Weather Channel, he can speak from personal experience.

Bettes was nursing minor injuries Saturday, including stitches in his hand, a day after the SUV that he and two photographers were riding in was thrown 200 yards by a twister in Oklahoma. The Weather Channel said all the occupants were wearing safety belts and walked away from the banged-up vehicle.

“That was the scariest moment of my life,” Bettes said. “I had never been through anything like it before, and my life passed before my eyes.”

He and the photographers were trying to outrun a tornado they spotted in El Reno, Okla., and failed.

Bettes said it felt like the vehicle tumbled over several times and was floating in the air before crashing to the ground.

The Weather Channel quickly posted video of the experience because the team kept cameras rolling throughout. The tape largely showed a black screen with audio of crashes until it came to rest with the picture sideways.

It was perhaps a warning sign of the dangers inherent in the trend of tornado chasers. Storm hunters driving specially equipped cars and racing to get video of tornadoes touching down have become an expected byproduct of severe weather outbreaks, and some have even gotten their own TV shows.

Earlier this week, a storm chaser video got wide exposure because an armor-plated vehicle didn’t bother trying to outrun the storm. It came back with pictures from inside the tornado itself.