Lightning Hits Blue Water Bridge In Port Huron

Lightning is seen near the Blue Water Bridge Tuesday May 28th, 2013, as a thunderstorm moved through the Blue Water Area. That storm was followed by more severe weather Thursday. The storm left some flooded roadways, downed branches and power outages in Port Huron and Fort Gratiot, Kimball and Port Huron townships. Power was expected to be returned to most customers by Thursday evening.

Oklahoma Tornado Outbreak Kills World-Renowned "Storm Chasers" Tim Samaras and Team

ABC 7 News Denver
By Anica Padilla | Email Me

Colorado storm chaser Tim Samaras, his son Paul Samaras, and longtime chase partner Carl Young were killed in the EF-3 tornado that tore through El Reno, Oklahoma Friday.
Tim and Paul were both born and raised in Lakewood, Colo. but most recently were living in Bennett. Tim is survived by his wife, Kathy.

Tim Samaras was considered a leader in storm chasing expertise and tornado research and worked with 7NEWS, National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, Boeing, and the federal government.
Samaras and his team starred in the Discovery Channel's "Storm Chasers" for three years before the show was canceled in 2012.

A family member posted this statement on Tim Samaras' Facebook page at 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning:

"I'm Jim Samaras - Tim Samaras's brother. Thank you to everyone for the condolences. It truly is sad that we lost my great brother Tim and his great son, Paul. Our hearts also go out to the Carl Young family as well as they are feeling the same feelings we are today. They all unfortunately passed away but doing what they LOVED. Chasing Tornado's. I look at it that he is in the 'big tornado in the sky...' We (the family) will keep folks aware of what the funeral estrangements are, but please in the meantime keep Tim and Paul in your thoughts and prayers."

Tim Samaras was 55 and his son Paul was 24. Carl Young was 45.

"Carl and Tim were the best of friends," and chased many times, Jim Samaras said.
Carl Young’s father, Bob Young, told CNN his son always wanted to be a meteorologist.

Tim founded TWISTEX (Tactical Weather Instrumented Sampling in Tornadoes EXperiment) to pursue tornadoes and advance the research and warning available to the public.

"Tim Samaras has led, designed, and fielded complex instrumentation research efforts over the past 30 years," the TWISTEX website says.

He was one of the safest in the storm chasing community, and he did it not for just the thrill but the research, friends said.

--Reaction from friends and colleagues--
The deaths of the three men have stunned the storm chasing and weather science community.
"I have known Tim for over 20 years, he was the most brilliant and most careful severe weather researcher of them all. Tim was not a cowboy, he was as cautious as possible about his approach to studying these dangerous storms," said Mike Nelson, 7NEWS Chief Meteorologist, who has worked with Tim in a variety of weather and science projects.
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