Tim Samaras, aged 55, and his son Paul, aged 24, became victims of the natural phenomenon in El Reno in the outskirts of Oklahoma City. Tim was a renowned explorer of extreme natural phenomena and one of the most famous "storm chasers." He founded the Twistex research centre (Tactical Weather Instrumented Sampling in / near Tornadoes EXperiment), which specializes in the study of tornadoes.