As reported by AccuWeather.com, three University of Oklahoma meteorology students died in a tragic car crash on their return trip from Kansas last Friday, where they had successfully intercepted a tornado while on a routine storm chasing outing.
According to a report from The New York Times, Nicholas Nair, 20, Gavin Short, 19, and Drake Brooks, 22, had been traveling southbound on Interstate 35 in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, a small town near the Kansas border, when their truck hydroplaned and stalled in the middle of the road before being hit by a truck. The students were pronounced dead on the scene, and the truck driver, who was hospitalized with injuries, survived the crash.
Their deaths have shocked the weather community, leading to touching tributes from across the field of meteorology. In a statement, AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers and President Stephen R. Smith grieved the fact that such promising young lives had been cut short. “The pursuit of science, especially for the ultimate purpose of saving lives and keeping people out of harm’s way, is the most noble pursuit there is,” Myers and Smith wrote. “Our hearts and prayers go out to the families.”
Extreme Meteorologist and storm chaser Reed Timmer posted multiple tributes for the chasers and said that his future chases will be dedicated to the trio. “Heartbreaking loss of 3 OU students in an accident on the way back from chasing. These students are close to my heart and a shining light in the weather community,” Timmer tweeted. “Words cannot describe the sadness. My thoughts and prayers go out to their families and friends. RIP my friends.”
Several National Weather Service offices also chimed in with tributes, with forecasters with the NWS in Norman, the office closest to the University of Oklahoma, releasing a weather balloon into the atmosphere with the names of the three lost chasers on it. In a somewhat eerie coincidence, it turned out that Drake Brooks himself had released a weather balloon in almost that same spot earlier in the year.
A number of students in the University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology added their own personal tributes to their friends and colleagues on Twitter, remembering their kindness and their positive impacts on the world. The University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology released a statement Saturday that said its tight-knit community was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy. “Our leadership and faculty stand ready to support each of our community members in the days, weeks and months ahead as we all grieve this unthinkable heartbreak,” the school said.
Following the news, a number of storm chasers and meteorologists took to Twitter to remind storm chasers young and old that driving is arguably the most dangerous part of the hobby. Storm chasers have died and been severely injured in accidents before. “Driving home is the most dangerous aspect of storm chasing and you don’t convince me otherwise,” tweeted Jordan Hall, a multimedia journalist with SevereStudios, a severe weather videography company.
A GoFundMe started to help the families of the deceased chasers has raised over $35,000 in less than a day, with support still pouring in.
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