Veteran storm chaser and meteorologist Tim Samaras, 55, his storm chasing partner Carl Young,45, and son Paul Samaras, 24, were among the 11 killed in the most recent round of tornadoes to hit Oklahoma on Friday night.

The three men were killed near El Reno during an EF3 tornado with winds up to 165 mph that ripped through the Oklahoma City area after they were overtaken by the multiple-vortex tornado, which appeared to be in the midst of a sharp change in direction.

"They put themselves in harm's way so that they can educate the public about the destructive power of these storms," Canadian County Undersheriff Chris West said.

Samaras, who was a tornado scientist for over 25 years, founded and ran a scientific field research program he called TWISTEX (Tactical Weather Instrumented Sampling in Tornadoes Experiment). The scientist also starred in the Discovery Channel series Storm Chasers.

"I'm not sure exactly why I chase storms. Perhaps it's to witness the incredible beauty of what Mother Nature can create" Samaras said in a Youtube video.

The Weather Channel's severe weather expert, Dr. Greg Forbes, who had a personal relationship with Samaras said: "He was a groundbreaker in terms of the kind of research he was doing on severe thunderstorms and tornadoes," on The Weather Channel Sunday morning.

The Weather Channel issued this statement:

"It was with great sadness that The Weather Channel learned of the passing of Tim and Paul Samaras and Carl Young as a result of the El Reno Tornado. Many of us were fortunate to have worked with them and have great admiration for their work. They went in the field focused on collecting data to enable meteorologists to further the science behind tornadoes which we know has and will help to save countless lives. Our community has suffered a terrible loss and our thoughts and prayers are with their loved ones."

ABC News meteorologist Ginger Zee also knew Samaras well and said: "Out of all storm chasers he doesn't take chances, he's the one that puts the probes in the path of the tornado to learn more about them. He is not, you know, a young gun running around making bad decisions person, so I am so sad and shocked, it is such a loss for the community."

"He was a pioneer; he was getting things and teaching us things that no one else could do. This is a guy who was not just a meteorologist, he's an engineer, he's one of the smartest men I have ever met in my life," Zee said.

Terry Garcia, Executive Vice President of the National Geographic Society called Samaras was "a courageous and brilliant scientist who fearlessly pursued tornadoes and lightning in the field in an effort to better understand these phenomena."

"The National Geographic Society made 18 grants to Tim for research over the years for field work like he was doing in Oklahoma at the time of his death, and he was one of our 2005 Emerging Explorers. Tim's research included creation of a special probe he would place in the path of a twister to measure data from inside the tornado; his pioneering work on lightning was featured in the August 2012 issue of National Geographic magazine,"

 "Though we sometimes take it for granted, Tim's death is a stark reminder of the risks encountered regularly by the men and women who work for us. This is an enormous loss for his family, his wide circle of friends and colleagues and National Geographic." Garcia said in a statement.

Tim's brother, Jim, took to the social media site Facebook and posted this on his page:

"Thank you to everyone for the condolences. It truly is sad that we lost my great brother Tim and his great son, Paul. Our hearts also go out to the Carl Young family as well as they are feeling the same feelings we are today. They all unfortunately passed away but doing what they LOVED. Chasing Tornado's.  I look at it that he is in the 'big tornado in the sky..."