Joel Taylor, "Storm Chasers" star, dead at 38, co-star says
Joel Taylor, who starred on the Discovery Channel series "Storm Chasers," has died, according to his friend and co-star Reed Timmer. Taylor was 38.
"I am shocked and absolutely devastated by the loss of my incredible, caring friend," Timmer posted early Wednesday on Twitter. "We chased so many intense storms, and I wish we could have just one more storm chase. I'll miss you forever, Joel."
"We lost a legend," Timmer added.
RIP my best friend and storm chasing partner, Joel Taylor. I am shocked and absolutely devastated by the loss of my incredible, caring friend. We chased so many intense storms, and I wish we could have just one more storm chase. I'll miss you forever, Joel. We lost a legend pic.twitter.com/htN45t8wik
— Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) January 24, 2018
Photos of Joel doing what he loved #stormchasing pic.twitter.com/VHO7i4j2Xn
— Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) January 24, 2018
The cause of Taylor's death was not immediately known, according to a post in the Team Western OK Chaser Facebook page. Taylor was a native of Oklahoma.
Our community of Elk City and the Storm Chasing community lost a great guy today. Joel Taylor was truly an inspiration...
Posted by Team Western OK Chaser on Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Others also tweeted about his death, saying they are heartbroken and that his passion for tornadoes was "infectious."
I was lucky enough to meet Joel a few years ago at Reed’s wedding. He was so kind to me and we got to hang out for a bit during those few days. I snapped this photo of him and that just seemed like who he was. A huge smile. RIP Joel Taylor…you will be so missed. pic.twitter.com/mZI5eHzhKG
— Mike Olbinski (@MikeOlbinski) January 24, 2018
I’m heartbroken to hear of the passing of Joel Taylor. My heart goes out to his parents. Long before his Discovery fame, Joel and his parents accompanied us on a trip to Hawaii while we taped our show Atmosphere’s. His passion for tornadoes was infectioushttps://t.co/tXUiUF5aUo
— Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) January 24, 2018
"Storm Chasers" was filmed in an what is know as Tornado Alley, People.com reports, and was canceled in January 2012 following five seasons.