Honouring the lives of STORMCHASERS Tim Samaras, Carl Young, and Paul Samaras – who were killed during the May 31 tornado outbreak in Oklahoma, near El Reno – Discovery presents MILE WIDE TORNADO: STORMCHASERS TRIBUTE on Wednesday, July 10 at 8 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT. The three men were featured in a Discovery special, MILE WIDE TORNADO: OKLAHOMA DISASTER, that captured the devastation of the storms that ripped through the state on May 20. Tragically, they lost their lives during another tornado only days later. MILE WIDE TORNADO: STORMCHASERS TRIBUTE revisits the original special, and pays tribute to these men with the most memorable highlights from STORMCHASERS episodes.
Image Credit: Sean Waugh | NOAA | NSSL
Via unprecedented on-the-ground and above-ground footage and tornado track CGI, MILE WIDE TORNADO tells the terrifying story – minute-by-minute – of the May 20, 2013, Oklahoma tornado which claimed 24 lives, and destroyed the homes and livelihoods of thousands more in its 45-minute, 27-kilometre multi-billion dollar journey of destruction. This was the most costly tornado ever, dollar-for-dollar. It’s a story told through the eyes of the chasers – including Tim Samaras, Carl Young, and Paul Samaras – and meteorologists tracking the storm, and ordinary folk who lived through it and survived.
Through the one-hour special, viewers meet teachers and parents from two schools in the city of Moore which were hardest hit. One school provides astonishing interior footage as the tornado struck; the other offers access to the classrooms and corridors where seven young children tragically lost their lives. The special also follows the story of a new mother who was in labour as the tornado powered into the Moore Medical Centre.
These personal stories are intercut with astonishing eye-witness video accounts of storm chasers on the ground, meteorologists, broadcasters, and emergency teams battling to keep up with the angry storm. This isn’t the first time the city of Moore has been struck by mega-tornados: this was the 21st on record. But why? MILE WIDE TORNADO delves into the science exploring why Moore keeps getting hit, and how forecasting and warning times have improved since the last big tornado to strike in 1999.
