A tight-knit community of weather lovers and storm chasers is grieving the deaths of three University of Oklahoma meteorology students in a car crash.

Many have expressed their grief, but also remembered why they loved them after the deaths of the students.

From left to right, Drake Brooks, Nicholas Nair, and Gavin Short take a selfie to send to their friends while storm chasing in Kansas on Friday. The three OU meteorology students died later that night in an accident on Interstate 35.
From left to right, Drake Brooks, Nicholas Nair, and Gavin Short take a selfie to send to their friends while storm chasing in Kansas on Friday. The three OU meteorology students died later that night in an accident on Interstate 35.

The three students were the sweetest, smartest people she had ever met, according to Leigh O' Neal, a geographic information science major at OU. The selfies they sent to their friends was a perfect representation of how funny they were.

She said that you couldn't be around them without laughing.

They would do anything to help others, even before their own well being. Their loss is very sad for us all.

When their SUV hydroplaned while driving on a wet I 35 near Tonkawa, Nair, Short and Brooks came back onto the highway and stopped. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said that a Volkswagen Tiguan was hit by a semi.

Gavin Short, orange shirt, and Nicholas Nair, left of Short, are pictured with their friends. Short and Nair died in a fatal car crash while coming home after storm chasing in Kansas.
Gavin Short, orange shirt, and Nicholas Nair, left of Short, are pictured with their friends. Short and Nair died in a fatal car crash while coming home after storm chasing in Kansas.

The three were dead at the scene. Tonkawa Fire Department officials and paramedics worked for over five hours to remove them from the wreck. The driver of a semi truck was taken to a hospital but has since been released.

The accident happened at 11:23 p.m. Three hours after the students saw a small tornado north of Herrington, Kansas, they saw another one on Friday night.

Evan Short said that his brother lived more in his first 18 years of life than he did in his first 1.5 years at OU.

Evan Short said that he can find solace in the idea that he can live among the clouds.

Gavin Short, 19, is pictured holding a storm chaser sign he received last Christmas.

The weather and meteorology community expressed their sadness over the news on Saturday.

Chris was part of a group of students chasing a storm. He woke up Saturday to hear that three of his friends had died.

In the past 24 hours, I've had a range of emotions. I was sad (I thought my first chase was going to be a bust), I was joy-filled (I saw my first tornado), and I was in shock (waking up to news that fellow OU students died).

— Chris Dixon (@catholic_wx) April 30, 2022

Words can't describe the emotions I felt from one of the highest points in my life to one of the most serious ones.

Reed Timmer, a storm chaser and meteorology graduate of the University of Oklahoma, called the students friends and said they are close to his heart.

My thoughts and prayers are with their families and friends.

Heartbreaking loss of 3 OU students in an accident on the way back from chasing. These students are close to my heart and a shining light in the weather community. Words cannot describe the sadness. My thoughts and prayers go out to their families and friends. RIP my friends

— Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) April 30, 2022

Three University of Oklahoma meteorology students died after a storm in Kansas.

  • A Florida family claims that they were tracked by an Apple AirTag during their visit to Disney World.

  • Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

    COVID-19 put a Wisconsin mom in a coma and almost killed her. Her recovery can not be fully explained.

  • There is a discount on used and new furniture. It's a good idea to have prices that fit your budget.

  • The manager of an Alabama restaurant poured hot grease on a customer after an altercation.

  • Munger said that he expects the price of the virtual currency to plunge to zero.

  • It is time to be honest.

  • AdTheDaddest
    • Why this Ad?
    • Go ad-free*

    The internet had to call them out.

  • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez replied to Musk in a now- deleted statement.

  • In late 2020, conspiracy theorists started telling everyone who would listen about a sinister plot called the Great Reset. Almost all of the world leaders and technocrats who are supposedly active agents or compromised puppets of the Forum adopted what conspiracists see as ridiculous.

  • A federal judge has sentenced a man to 35 years in prison for making and attempting to make videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of a minor. Since 2001, when he was convicted of attempted capital sexual battery and lascivious molestation of minor children in Jacksonville, he has been registered as a sexual predator. According to court documents, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at a residence in Jacksonville in May of last year, where Butler and several other registered sex offenders lived.

  • AdPOPSUGAR
    • Why this Ad?
    • Go ad-free*

    Artist Jirka Vinse Jonatan V wanted what Disney princesses would look like if they were real.

  • In a heartbreaking post on social media earlier this month, it was announced that one of their newborn twins, their son, had passed away.

  • 50 Cent demanded that Teairra Mari pay up in the latest chapter of the lawsuit.

  • Barnes was an actress who appeared in both versions of the classic comedy The Parent Trap. Sally Jackson said that she died of a long illness. She played the role of gold digger in 1961.

  • Ad12Up
    • Why this Ad?
    • Go ad-free*

    A man builds a trap to catch a thief.

  • The valedictorian and salutatorian of the twins will attend Rice University.

  • Protesters have clashed in the past.

  • The piece was produced by the actress with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union.

  • The AirMini AutoSet is the world's smallest CPAP. For a limited time, you can get a free prescription for the AirMini.

  • AZCentral | The Arizona Republic

    Allister died Saturday at the age of 45. Her husband and family said she had health problems.

  • The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office confirmed that eight-year-old Rell Lewis and 37-year-old Terrell Lewis were both found safe.

  • School officials told NBC Chicago that the students who ate the cereals have recovered and are feeling better.

  • AdAmazon.com
    • Why this Ad?
    • Go ad-free*
  • Who doesn't want to live in the tropics?

  • Naomi Judd died at the age of 76, her daughters said on Sunday. The sisters said they lost their mother to mental illness.

  • There is a multi-alarm fire at the Red Jacket Resort.