Stormchaser killed, four people wounded in Minnesota crash

fatal the accident came less than two weeks after three meteorology students from the university of Oklahoma were killed in a crash that also tractor-trailer involved on highway in bad weather. They were returning home from chasing the storm.

Marta Llanos Rodriguez, 30, a meteorologist from Mexico City, died. She was a passenger in in vehicle.

Another passenger, 42-year-old Bradford Barrett, suffered life-threatening injuries. Barrett, physic. scientist with Air Force Directorate of Scientific research, formerly professor in Department of Oceanography of United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. He is known to frequent the Plains to chase storms and were posted in Chile recently for his job.

Diego Alvaro Campos, 37 driver of in car, and Aldo Alberto Vizcarra-Aviles, 33, another passenger, suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Both meteorologists are from Chile.

Four met each other through professional communication and conferences.

truck driver Jaskaran Singh, 26, was not injured. Tyler Scott Gilbury, driver of third vehicle participated, received injuries incompatible with life.

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Report on crash surfaced around 5:54 pm CT on Wednesday. Weather radar at the time showed pouring rain and thunderstorms in in area. BUT heavy thunderstorm warning was in effect just north of Interstate 90 as severe storms swept across the country. region.

Shot down power poles and lines crossed the highway at the scene. The poles are reported to have broken in strong thunderstorm, gusts over 60 mph.

A Chevrolet hatchback carrying Storm Hunters was pulled over to avoid coming in contact with in power line when singh truck hit vehicle.

Previously in day, Rodriguez tweeted about joining in groupadventure, as it was with her first day out. She was a weather forecaster for Mexico City, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported, helped create an early warning system there.

She shared tweet below showing group moving through the storms and heavy rain about 20 minutes before the accident.

social media messages from men on the trip showed they were chasing a storm for a few days before Rodriguez’s arrival on Wednesday. men chose her up in morning in Nebraska before heading northeast. Level 3 of 5 storm risk covered the area where the National Weather Service received reports of tornadoes and strong winds towards the late evening.

“We were chasing the storm,” Campos told the Star Tribune. on Thursday morning. “The storm was really bad and we were trying to get out of there.”

Although the death of storm chasers is infrequent, it is second tragedy involving hunters in the same number of weeks. April 29 at the university of Oklahoma weather students Drake Brooks, Nicholas Nair, and Gavin Short were killed on their return. home from the chase. Their accident also happened in pouring rain.

Driving itself is considered the main risk of chasing the storm. There may be many traffic accidents more probably than be hit tornado.

According to research of US Department of Transportation data, 70 percent of weather- related crashes were on wet asphalt, as were 76 percent of weatherfatal accident. “Average, over 5000 people killed and over 418 000 people injured in weather- related crashes each year”, it wrote.

Lethal outcomes of Oklahoma students talk about chasing a storm risk: Driving

BUT community Still in The shock of storm chaser deaths in late April reels again with in news of another accident.

“Stunned and scared news that one of my frequent graduate school chase associates and fellow professors of meteorology @bsbarret was badly injured in a crash last night in Minnesota,” he tweeted. Robin Tanamachia professor of atmospheric science at Purdue University. “I thought deeply of him and other victims of this accident today.

Many other in in scientific and wider weather world answered in also distrust.

Serious weather expected again Thursday in in region, with level 4 of 5 risk of dangerous storms.