This tornado was eventually rated an EF5 with max winds of 296 mph measured by a mobile doppler, with a maximum width of 2.6 miles. That maximum width was very near where it killed Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras, and Carl Young. Tim was one of the most experienced tornado chasers in the world, and Carl was not too far behind him in his level of knowledge and experience.
It killed 3 highly experienced storm chaser/tornado researchers in one vehicle and another amteur storm chaser in another vehicle, and killed over a dozen other people.
To see how 3 highly experienced storm chasers could get killed, go here and watch from 2:25 on.
Tim and Co. are located to the left side forward about 3 miles from this camera, to the left of the tornado at 2:50 in the video ...
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link to www.youtube.com]
watch from 2:25 on at the transformation. The tornado becomes rain-wrapped, enlarges, and then also moves hard left, going from a southeast direction of travel to a northeast direction of travel. This combination can be a deadly one for anyone no matter how experienced they are.