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Review — The Man Who Caught the Storm: The Life of Legendary Tornado Chaser Tim Samaras

He lived on the cutting edge, then it all got cut short. His story is as unique as the phenomena he sought. Tim Samaras is one of the most revered storm chasers in history, and through his character and actions, he carved out a legendary life that may never be matched in our world.

The Man Who Caught the Storm: The Life of Legendary Tornado Chaser Tim Samaras” is, as the title suggests, about the life of Tim Samaras. He was a man who sought education and knowledge through unconventional means and made a success of himself despite all the personal and professional hurdles he encountered. A tinkerer turned in situ scientist, Samaras saw the seemingly unachievable as a constant life force to push him beyond what people said could not be done.

The beginning of the book draws you in not only to the early life of Tim Samaras, but also to the early life of tornado forecasting and research. To understand how Samaras turned the impossible into the possible, “The Man Who Caught the Storm” weaves two histories together while easing the reader into the earliest decades of unraveling the mystery of tornadoes.

Depending on who you are, such a setup of the history of tornado forecasting and research may be too detailed and elaborate in the book, but I can see why it is necessary for at least some readers to get a grasp on the enormous mountain that is still being climbed by today’s researchers. How much detail to put in rides a fine line and varies by reader, so I think the author, Brantley Hargrove, did a good job in the overall presentation of general tornado history. The book is about a person whose life focus became tornado research, so erring on the side of caution and adding a few extra details doesn’t detract from the story. Weather enthusiasts may gloss over these parts of the book, but for the rest of the readers, it may all be necessary.

From the early days, the book transitions to a Tim Samaras who has caught the chasing bug. More and more time chasing, and more and more miles are put on his vehicle as each year passes. With little more than a high school diploma and no formal weather education, Tim finds all available weather forecasting and spotting resources to make himself a more successful storm chaser.

In these early chapters, Hargrove describes not only what Tim experiences, but what all chasers experience. The thrill of watching your first tornado touch down, the disappointment of a busted forecast, the yearning to find another tornado even though you just watched one rope out.

The TWISTEX team in Iowa in 2009. (Tony Laubach)

Hargrove also captures what ails Tim and many other chasers. Time and money constraints, leaving your home to become a Great Plains nomad, and even a social hierarchy within the chaser community that can sometimes push back against naïve newcomers. Samaras finds enough support in his early days to gain the knowledge and experience that allows him to work up the chasing ladder. But as the book describes, that is not what Tim is about. He is out there for the storm and to collect the vital data that no one else but him can seem to get.

Anyone who has chased a storm will personally feel every high and low of Tim’s life journey, chapter by chapter. “The Man Who Caught the Storm” does an excellent job of keeping Tim’s life relatable while also including some proper fanboying over one of the greatest storm chasers that has ever lived. The story was exactly what I was looking for when I first picked up the book. Midway through the book, I was excited to turn through every page to see what next chasing experience came next.

However as the years go by in each page, the thoughts of the inevitable conclusion come to mind more and more often. In the ride that I don’t want to see end, tears well up in my eyes as I begin the third part of the book. Chase Nirvana is the name of the first chapter of that fateful day. Hargrove has set the stage for an epic that will show how easy it is to flip the switch from a major success to a major failure when butting heads with one of nature’s most powerful forces.

As I sat well south of the fatal storm that day with my chase partners Ian Livingston and James Hyde, we watched anxiously as the storm morphed and evolved into a massive beast. Dozens of storm chaser GPS marks filled the Radar screen next to the storm. Suddenly, the southern end of the storm cluster rapidly organized and pushed eastward near I-40. Everyone in our car knew what was about to happen as we saw the storm overtake those GPS marks.

“A storm chaser is going to die in this storm,” I said to the group. Little did I know that it was the man I would least expect to go past the edge.

This book perfectly captures chasing’s moments. The thrill of catching the big storm, which suddenly turns to terror as the beast transforms into something never experienced before in such proximity. Reading the book made me relive the moments from that day. The wait, the excitement of such a prolific looking setup, the worry about there being too many chasers and being too close to a city, and the desire to throw caution to the wind and attack the storm.

Then there was the dread, as rumors and our worst fears came to life, both on the computer screen and in front of our own eyes. Every single feeling was captured so well that I had to pause a few times while reading through the book’s recollection of that day.

Chasers will flip each page fondly, remembering Tim and Paul Samaras and Carl Young as their legacy remains part of history in “The Man Who Caught the Storm.” Others will see a man who seemed larger than life, but whose time on Earth unfortunately concluded suddenly and tragically. Hargrove’s intense and intimate research into Tim Samaras’ life is on full display in this book, and poring through Tim’s story was both enchanting and humbling.

Prepare to be transported to the Plains and the great tornado hunt through this engaging read!

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Operational Meteorologist at WeatherBug (Earth Networks). See full bio.

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One thought on “Review — The Man Who Caught the Storm: The Life of Legendary Tornado Chaser Tim Samaras

  1. Thanks for the review and link! As an avid armchair chaser I thought I knew a little about Mr. Samaras. I’m a third of the way through the book and I now realize how little I knew. The book does a nice job of focusing on the subject and keeping the reader interested. Some questions are coming to mind at this point and I’m hoping for some answers in the last few chapters of the book.
    Fine website you have here, btw….kudos!
    JE

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