The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Three storm chasers die in crash in Texas while pursuing tornado
‘Storm Wranglers’ ran through stop sign in their SUV.
For those who chase severe storms the thrill of the chase is tempered by danger.
The effects of a tornado — damaging hail, winds that can exceed 100 mph and debris that can be made into deadly projectiles — are hazardous, but the other perils are man-made: the cars driven by other storm chasers.
That was the case on Tuesday afternoon when three storm chasers were killed in a crash outside of Spur, Texas, about 70 miles east of Lubbock, as they pursued a tornado, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.
Kelley G. Williamson, 57, of Cassville, Missouri, was driving a Suburban when he went through a stop sign and struck a Jeep driven by Corbin L. Jaeger, 25, of Peoria, Arizona, the department said in a statement. Jaeger was pronounced dead at the scene, as was Williamson and a passenger in his vehicle, Randall D. Yarnall, 55, also of Cassville, Missouri.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation. It was raining at the time of the collision, and there did not appear to be any tire skid marks, Sgt. John Gonzalez, a department spokesman, said.
Williamson and Yarnall were known for their appearances on “Storm Wranglers,” a show on the Weather Channel.
The show’s website described their adventures going “head-to-head with every storm imaginable, including powerful tornadoes and supercell thunderstorms” and called Williamson “the eyes and ears on the ground for the Weather Channel when our viewers need it most.”
Williamson, a farmer by trade, started tracking storms after his wife got caught in a tornado in 2008. It picked up her van and “she nearly broke every bone in her body,” the website said. In a statement, the Weather Channel called Williamson and Yarnall “beloved members of the weather community.”
On a Twitter account he shared with two other storm chasers, Jaeger on Tuesday posted that he was “doing a reassessment” of the tracking plans. “I’ll keep you all updated,” he wrote about three hours before the crash.
On Twitter, other storm chasers mourned the deaths.
Tim Marshall, a meteorologist and engineer at an engineering firm in Irving, Texas, who has been chasing severe storms since 1977, said the 1996 action movie “Twister” about tornado trackers and the rise of the internet fueled intense interest in storm chasing.
He said when he began, he relied on a weather radio and an AM/FM radio that relayed outdated information, and he plotted his own weather maps. “You didn’t know where the storms were — you were going visually all the time,” he said.
Today, apps on smartphones provide real-time data, making storm chasing a pursuit accessible to all — seasoned professionals and trained meteorologists, as well as homegrown enthusiasts with a thirst for thrills and the celebrity that comes with posting dramatic videos on YouTube.
“That information — available to everyone — says to a lot of people, ‘Let’s go chase this storm,’” Marshall said. “Back in the early days, I would have a storm to myself. Today, that would not happen.”
Still, fatalities related to storm chasing are rare.
Three men were killed in 2013 in Oklahoma when they got stuck in the path of a tornado. One of the victims, Tim Samaras was well known for his appearances on the reality show “Storm Chasers,” on the Discovery Channel. Marshall said he could recall only one other fatality — a student who lost control of his vehicle.
Marshall estimated that the number of enthusiasts has increased from a few dozen to thousands.