Three of the chasers who died, Tim Samaras, his son Paul Samaras, and chase partner Carl Young, made . A mile-wide EF-5 tornado tore through the middle of town and across Interstate 35, uprooting sturdy oaks and shearing houses from their foundations. Because of the circumstances on the two-lane road, it appears that he could not get out of the way, and, basically, the tornado picked up his vehicle, Jim Samaras told the Today show. More than 210,000 customers lost electricity in the areas affected by the storm. When she emerged from the freezer her car windshield had been shattered by the hail. Young excelled at choosing the right storm systems using Doppler radar, but once they sat beneath the mesocyclone, Samaras' ability to spot the signs led them to the tornado. According to meteorologists about six to eight inches of rain fell in a 12 hour period between 7 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. Saturday. The American Meteorological Society has released a preliminary version of its after-action report on the El Reno, Oklahoma, tornado, which killed noted storm chaser Tim Samaras, his son Paul and . I don't think they realize how lucky El . If he got out ahead of it, he reasoned, he might get a better look. Left out was the rest of TWISTEX, a loose confederation of PhDs, trained spotters and meteorologists who fanned out behind the tornadoes in Chevy Cobalts, assembling themselves into a dragnet of atmospheric measurements. There was no place to hide.'. At a memorial in Littleton, Colorado, she said she didn't know how she was still standing. (MORE: Tornado Hunt Team Takes Direct Hit by Tornado). If they chased twisters, it would be on their own time and on their own dime. The heavy rains slackened, and in that moment he knew he should not be there. Otherwise, it was unrecognizable, as though it had been cubed by a salvage yard's compactor. Sheriff Cody Carpenter and a wildlife officer had been checking on houses that were in danger of being flooded. "It did fine," he said. Tim was found inside the mangled vehicle, while Paul and Carl were found about half a mile away. They went in the field focused on collecting data to enable meteorologists to further the science behind tornadoes which we know has and will help to save countless lives. 'We were very concerned this would move into downtown. For two seasons, Grzych ventured with them beneath mesocyclones, the rotating masses of air that stretch for miles overhead and often spawn tornadoes. And this wasn't some amateur yahoo with an iPhone. Missouri and Illinois around St. Louis were also hit by 12 tornadoes, at least 100 people are injured and 'numerous homes' have been damaged. He rolled up to Highway 81 but stopped. 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. 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. The violent winds enveloped Tim Samaras, 55, his son Paul Samaras, 24, and his colleague Carl Young, 45, toppling their car like a toy in a breeze. Samaras, Paul and Young met Cathy Finley and Bruce Lee in Guthrie, 30 miles away. It truly is sad that we lost my great brother Tim and his great son, Paul. TWISTEX was born. Friday night's victims included a mother and a baby sucked out of their car as the EF3 hit near El Reno. On May 19, Matt Grzych sat in gridlocked traffic in Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City, during a stalled chase. Though he respected these forces, by walking away with his life from hundreds of tornadoes, in some way Samaras had shown he was equal to them. "He looked at tornadoes not for the spotlight of TV but for the scientific aspect. Videos and Final Tweets From Storm Chasers Killed in Oklahoma