Page 21 - Storm Chasing News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> reporter: mike was asked what did did you think about. and he said i thought about my wife and i don't think i'm going to do this anymore. he said i think i'm going to retire. that's a veteran of dozens if not hundreds of tornadoes. in fact mike was one of the first people on the scene of the joplin tornado years ago. he has a dog from that storm named joplin that he brought home from the storm as a rescue dog. mike's a good man. and he got shaken up by this very difficult storm. >> of course you guys are meteorologists. you do it in the name of science. but if you go online, chad, there ar...

Samaras and carl young. they had been featured on the discovery channel program "storm chasers." it is hard to understand how an experienced guy and a guy with a reputation of being cautious was caught by this tornado. quite possibly because this ef-3 made an unpredictable left turn and quite possibly because he got caught in the traffic jam as people were trying to outrun these tornadoes. >> i honestly believe that he saved lives because of some of the things and the tools he deployed and developed for storm chasing i think the biggest thing that he could have done was he gave his life for ot...

>> reporter: his team tried to close in on the tornado in what samaras warned about in his final tweet. dangerous day for oklahoma. stay weather savvy. >> reporter: including mike bettis and his crew as seen here on the weather channel. >> eventually the camera was dejected. this is the camera. it never stopped recording. watch it here as you can actually see bettis' truck rolling over and over in the field. >> i just saw my wife's face and i thought, you know, that's, you know, that's my life. i don't want to give that up just yet. and thankfully i don't have to. >> reporter: a fortunate fate...

On a prairie and if you don't get to safety quick enough, the tornado eats you. in a way tornado chasers are like big game hunters and there is a risk that happens when you are hunting. more people probably die climbing mt. everest than storm chasing. the storm chasers at least get information that helps people. >> that's the real question, do they? things have been invented so they don't have to do that. some is for tv outlets who want it. it is exciting. i want to know do they add a percentage that helps people save lives or do they not? >> i tweeted this last night. i threw the question out...

>> reporter: a fortunate fate bettes's photograph austin anderson told as well. he escaped with a broken back bones, broken rib and breast plate, but says he's not done storm chasing. >> there's a lot more to learn about tornadoes and getting out there and seeing them up close firsthand is important because it's, i think i feel like i'm helping people learn about tornadoes. >> reporter: a mission he shared with storm chasers tim samaras, paul samaras and carl young. their lifelong passion cut short by a ferocious twister's unpredictable force. >> i just could never think it would ever happen t...