Carl Young (storm chaser)

Carl Richard Young (May 14, 1968 – May 31, 2013)^[1][2] was an American meteorologist and storm chaser who worked with the TWISTEX research team. He was one of the first storm chasers in the United States to die during a tornado; he was killed during the 2013 El Reno tornado, along side Tim Samaras and Paul Samaras.

Carl Young
Young in 2009
Born	Carl Richard Young (1968-05-14)May 14, 1968 Oakland, California, U.S.
Died	May 31, 2013(2013-05-31) (aged 45) Canadian County, Oklahoma, U.S.
Cause of death	Tornado incident, ejected from the car by EF3 El Reno
Known for	Tornado field research
Scientific career
Fields	Engineering, meteorology

Life

Young was born in Oakland, California on May 14, 1968. He graduated from Carmel High School and received a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in the field of economics.^[3][1] Young also received a master's degree in atmospheric science at the University of Nevada, Reno.^[4] He began storm chasing in 2000 following work on Hollywood film sets.^[5] At ChaserCon in 2002, Young met Tim Samaras; the pair would go on several storm chases together, seeing a total of over 125 tornadoes.^[5][6] In 2012, Young helped film the documentary series Storm Chasers, which aired on the Discovery Channel.^[7] In early 2013, Young promised to Dalia Terleckaite, who was his girlfriend at the time, that he would cease chasing, although Young continued to chase storms.^[8] Prior to his death, Young also helped write Monthly Weather Review publications with the TWISTEX team.^[9]

El Reno tornado and death

See also: 2013 El Reno tornado

In the spring of 2013, TWISTEX was conducting lightning research (including with a high-speed camera) when active tornadic periods ensued in mid to late May. Young drove a Chevorlet Cobalt to the Oklahoma City area along with Tim and Paul Samaras.^[10][11]

At 6:23 p.m. on May 31, 2013, all three members of the group were killed by a violent tornado with wind speeds estimated to have been in excess of 295 mph (475 km/h) near the Regional Airport of El Reno, Oklahoma.^[12] The TWISTEX vehicle was struck and thrown by a subvortex, which generate the highest winds; some of these were moving at 175 mph (282 km/h) within the parent tornado.^[13] Shortly before they were killed, Young noted how there was no rain around the vehicle as the wind grew "eerily calm". Tim Samaras responded: "Actually, I think we're in a bad spot."^[14]

The tornado was sampled by University of Oklahoma RaXPol radar as 2.6 miles (4.2 km) wide, the widest tornado ever recorded.^[15] The true size of the multiple-vortex tornado confused onlookers by its mammoth proportions containing orbiting subvortices larger than average tornadoes and its expansive transparent to translucent outer circulation. The strong inflow and outer-circulation winds in conjunction with rocky roads and a relatively underpowered vehicle also hampered driving away from the tornado. The tornado simultaneously took an unexpected sharp turn, closing on their position as it rapidly accelerated within a few minutes from about 20 mph (32 km/h) to as much as 60 mph (97 km/h) in forward movement and swiftly expanded from about 1 mile (1.6 km) to 2.6 miles (4.2 km) wide in about 30 seconds, and was mostly obscured in heavy precipitation,^[12] all of which combined so that several other chasers were also hit or had near misses.^[16] It was the first known instance of a storm chaser or a meteorologist killed by a tornado.^[17] Young's body was found 0.5 miles (0.80 km) miles away from the vehicle.^[18]

The vehicle where Young died, located near El Reno, Oklahoma.^[19]

Even before it was known that Young and the two other passengers had been killed, the event led many to question storm-chasing tactics, particularly in close proximity to tornadoes.^[20] In addition to the three TWISTEX members, the tornado killed five other people, including local resident Richard Charles Henderson, who had decided to follow the storm.^[21]

Atmospheric scientists and storm chasers embarked on a major project to gather information and analyze what happened regarding chaser actions and meteorological occurrences.^[22] A makeshift memorial was established at the site soon after the incident^[23] and a crowdfunded permanent memorial, spearheaded by Doug Gerten, the deputy who first found the vehicle wreckage,^[24] was later established, although it was vandalized in late March 2016, with the monument struck by bullets and the American flag cut away from the flagpole.^[25][26]

See also

• Deaths in May 2013