'We're going to die, we're going to die': Tragic last words of father-and-son storm chasers killed when tornado tossed their car half a mile

Tim Samaras, 55, his son Paul, 24, and crew member Carl Young, 45, died in El Reno on Friday

They were heard on Oklahoma Highway Patrol radio screaming before they were killed

The elder Samaras was found strapped into their car while the other victims' bodies were discovered half a mile to the east and half a mile to the west



Friend and meteorologist Mike Nelson said: 'Tim was not a cowboy, he was as cautious as possible about his approach to studying these dangerous storms'

At least 18 people were killed in Friday's storms including a four-year-old girl who was swept away by flood waters in Oklahoma City on Friday



Five-month-old baby in critical condition after being pulled out alive from Oklahoma River



Authorities say many people ignored advice to sit tight and attempted to leave the area - probably as a reaction to the twister than killed 24 people less than two week ago




A father-and-son team of storm chasers and their long-time partner were heard screaming 'we're going to die, we're going to die' on highway patrol radio moments before they were killed by one of the savage twisters they'd devoted their lives to following.

Tim Samaras, 55, along with his son, Paul Samaras, 24, and Carl Young, 45, died on Friday in El Reno after a tornado that packed winds of up to 165 mph picked up their car and threw it, somersaulting, a half a mile.

The elder Samaras' body was still belted into their Chevrolet Cobalt, which was found on an unimproved county road parallel to Interstate 40. The other victims' bodies were found half a mile to the east and half a mile to the west, Canadian County under-sheriff Chris West said.

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Following their passion: Storm chasers Tim Samaras (right), his son Paul Samaras (left) and Carl Young (second left) were killed on Friday by a tornado. They are pictured along with fellow storm chaser Tony Laubach

Avid explorer: Emotional tributes have been made to scientist and storm chaser Tim Samaras, who died doing what he loved, friends said

Destroyed: The Chevrolet Cobalt, pictured, driven by Tim Samaras was thrown half a mile in the terrifying storm Tragic: Tim Samaras was found dead inside the car, pictured, while the other storm chasers' bodies were discovered half a mile in either direction But before their stalking of the dangerous vortex turned deadly, their cries could be heard by Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Betsy Randolph. 'They were screaming, "We're going to die, we're going to die,"' she recalled to USA Today . 'There was just no place to go. There was no place to hide.' According to Mr West, their vehicle looked ' like it had gone through a trash compactor' when it was found. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next Pictured: Tragic family of seven swept away to their deaths... Pre-school teacher, 29, who lost one of her legs in Boston... Share this article Share 'The car was probably about 60 to 70 per cent of its normal size because it had been pushed and mauled and compacted as it was tumbling down the road. Like wadded up,' he told the Washington Post . Mr West guessed the experienced storm chasers were attempting to parallel the storm on the county road and it either changed course or another vortex appeared. 'We're never going to know, because they're not here to tell us,' Mr West told The Post. The news comes as the death toll from Friday's tornadoes and storms in Oklahoma has risen to 18 people, including six children and 12 adults, the Oklahoma chief medical examiner said on Monday. Officials added five victims on Monday to the confirmed list of dead from the tornadoes and from storms that caused severe flooding: three adults and two unidentified children, the medical examiner's office said.

Discovery Channel said it will honor the three veteran storm chasers, who regularly appeared on its show Stormchasers, with a special airing this week . Deadly profession: Storm chasers Tim Samaras (center) and crew member Carl Young (right) were killed on Friday in a tornado that ripped through El Reno, Oklahoma

Dangers: Paul Samaras, 24, (left) and Carl Young, 45, (right) were killed as they conducted research during the tornadoes in Oklahoma this weekend On the edge: The storm chasers were killed as they followed the tornado in Oklahoma on Friday as the death toll rose to 18 today

Deadly twister: Three storm chasers were among at least 18 people killed following the tornado which touched down near El Reno on Friday

The program, 'Mile Wide Tornado: Stormchasers Tribute,' will feature scenes of Tim Samaras, his son Paul and Mr Young. It airs at 10 p.m. EDT Wednesday.



The men spent years capturing and sharing storm videos with TV viewers and weather researchers.



'Mile Wide Tornado' originally aired Sunday and focuses on the May 20 tornado that devastated a wide swatch of Oklahoma. Discovery says it has been updated with 'Stormchasers' footage of the researchers.



In a tribute, Mr Samaras' brother Jim wrote on Facebook : '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.'

Long-time friend of Tim Samaras, meteorologist Mike Nelson, told the Denver Channel : '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.'

Terry Garcia, executive vice president of the National Geographic Society , said: 'We were shocked and deeply saddened by the news that longtime National Geographic grantee Tim Samaras was killed in a tornado in Oklahoma on Friday, along with Tim's son Paul and their colleague Carl Young.

'Tim was a courageous and brilliant scientist who fearlessly pursued tornadoes and lightning in the field in an effort to better understand these phenomena. The National Geographic Society made 18 grants to Tim for research over the years for field work like he was doing in Oklahoma at the time of his death, and he was one of our 2005 Emerging Explorers.



Lighting up the sky: The storm chasers work was featured on National Geographic and the Discovery Channel as they tracked violent weather systems

'Tim's research included creation of a special probe he would place in the path of a twister to measure data from inside the tornado; his pioneering work on lightning was featured in the August 2012 issue of National Geographic magazine. Though we sometimes take it for granted, Tim's death is a stark reminder of the risks encountered regularly by the men and women who work for us. This is an enormous loss for his family, his wide circle of friends and colleagues and National Geographic.'

However, the men's deaths have shone a spotlight on the dangers of storm chasing.

'Use a telephoto lens for gosh sakes. That's what they're made for,' long-time storm chaser, David Hoadley, of Falls Church, told The Washington Post.

Hoadley has been in the business for 57 years and pursued the El Reno twister.



'The fact that it could happen to someone like Tim, it could happen to me, it could happen to anybody. People who chase storms need to back off a little bit. Plan for a lifetime, like I did. Take your time.'



Nine were confirmed dead in the Oklahoma City area on Friday evening, though the death toll has since risen, and flash floods in Arkansas caused additional fatalities, including a sheriff trying to rescue people from rising waters.

Damage from Friday night's severe weather was concentrated a few miles north of Moore, the Oklahoma City suburb pounded by an EF5 tornado on May 20 that killed 24 people.



Eye of the storm: Tornado researcher Tim Samaras monitors the radar (left). His pioneering work has made it easier to warn people about tornadoes



Another two sets of storm-chasing meteorologists had lucky escapes on Friday night after their vehicles got too close to the multiple tornadoes that hit the Oklahoma City area.

TIM SAMARAS: THE VALUABLE LEGACY OF A STORM CHASER

The seasoned storm chaser had dedicated his life to extreme weather, following storms for a quarter of a century.

His pioneering work included the development of probes which when left in the path of a tornado, can measure pressure drops. He set a world record in 2003 which still stands today when he recorded an 100 millibar pressure drop from an F-4 tornado. His website Twistex has been integral to understanding how tornadoes work and improving warning times for those living in Tornado Alley.



Mike Bettes, a member of the Weather Channel Tornado Hunt Team, was driving in his SUV when it was picked up and thrown 200 yards by the monster rain-wrapped tornado near El Reno.

In a separate incident, Brandon Sullivan and Brett Wright captured heart stopping footage of their exploits getting too close to the powerful twister near Union City, in southwest Oklahoma City.

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman predicted a slight chance of severe weather in the Northeast on Sunday, mainly from the Washington, D.C., area to northern Maine.



Hail and high winds were the chief threat, though a tornado could not be ruled out, forecasters said.



Friday night's storm formed out on the prairie west of Oklahoma City, giving residents plenty of advance notice.



When told to seek shelter, many ventured out and snarled traffic across the metro area - perhaps remembering the damage from May 20.

'It was chaos. People were going southbound in the northbound lanes. Everybody was running for their lives,' said Terri Black, 51, a teacher's assistant in Moore.

After seeing last month's tornado also turn homes into piles of splintered rubble, Ms Black said she decided to try and outrun the tornado when she learned her southwest Oklahoma City home was in harm's way. She quickly regretted it.



Lucky escape: A meteorologist from The Weather Channel was injured after his car (seen here) was thrown 200 yards by the storm

Waterway: A man uses a jetski to travel between his home and Osage City, after Missouri was affected by severe flooding

Storm damage: Navy veterans inspect the washed out road where they pulled a woman and her daughter to safety after their car flooded

A family in El Reno, Oklahoma inspect what is left of their home after Friday night's tornadoes battered the local area Rain: Parts of Oklahoma City experience extreme flooding after multiple tornadoes passed through Central Oklahoma



Crash: An airplane from the Aviation Technology department lies upside down on the lawn at Canadian Valley Technology Center in El Reno

Friday night's victims included a mother and a baby sucked out of their car as the EF3 hit near El Reno. A four-year-old boy died after being swept into the Oklahoma River on the south side of Oklahoma City, said Oklahoma City police Lt. Jay Barnett. The boy and other family members had sought shelter in a drainage ditch.

More than 100 people were injured by swirling debris, most with puncture wounds and lacerations, authorities said.

A total of five tornadoes struck the Oklahoma City metro area, the National Weather Service said.

Oklahoma wasn't the only state hit by violent weather Friday night. In Missouri, areas west of St. Louis received significant damage from an EF3 tornado Friday night that packed estimated winds of 150 mph. In St. Charles County, at least 71 homes were heavily damaged and 100 had slight to moderate damage, county spokeswoman Colene McEntee said.

Tens of thousands were without power, and only eight minor injuries were reported. Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency.

Northeast of St. Louis and across the Mississippi River, the city of Roxana was hit by an EF3 tornado, but National Weather Service meteorologist Jayson Gosselin said it wasn't clear whether the damage in both states came from the same EF3 twister or separate ones.

Shooting tournament: People search a field for guns near a destroyed RV at a state shooting tournament that was destroyed in El Reno Weapons displaced: Shotguns recovered from a field lay against a overturned trailor at a state shooting tournament that was destroyed in El Reno

Damage: An Oklahoma home destroyed, its roof partially torn off after the tornado rips through

Salvaging: Residents retrieve belongings from a home destroyed by the tornados that tore through central Oklahoma

Will Rogers World Airport was evacuated as Oklahoma City braced for the tornado, that was moving at 40mph.

Local news reported an estimated 1,200 people were at the airport.

NBC News reported that the passengers were herded to the basement and told to put their hands on their heads as they waited out the storm.



Storm chasers with cameras in their car transmitted video showing a number of funnels dropping from the supercell thunderstorm as it passed south of El Reno and toward downtown Oklahoma City.



Police urged motorists to leave the crosstown Interstate 40 and seek a safe place.

The storm was headed toward Oklahoma City, which has more than a million people in the metro area.



'If you live in downtown Oklahoma City, please go below ground. Do it right now,' local news forecasters told viewers.



Television cameras showed debris falling from the sky west of Oklahoma City and power transformers being knocked out by high winds across a wider area.

The scene was eerily like that from last week, when blackened skies generated a top-of-the-scale EF5 storm with 210 mph winds.

Rick Smith, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service at Norman, said that while the storm packed a powerful punch, it wasn't as strong as the Moore tornado.

Waiting: Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport was evacuated. Local news reported an estimated 1,200 people were at the airport and were herded to the basement to wait out the storm

The region was fortunate because the storm touched down mostly in rural areas and missed central Oklahoma City.

'It's not even close to anything like what we had last week,' Smith said. 'We were very concerned this would move into downtown. It would have been a major problem. It made all the difference that it was out in the country.'

Well before Oklahoma's first thunderstorms fired up at late afternoon, the Storm Prediction Center in Norman was already forecasting a violent evening.



From the Texas border to near Joplin, Mo., residents were told to keep an eye to the sky and an ear out for sirens.

This spring's tornado season got a late start, with unusually cool weather keeping funnel clouds at bay until mid-May.



The season usually starts in March and then ramps up for the next couple of months.