The Weather Channel Explores the Risks of Storm Chasing in New Special, "Dangerous Day Ahead"

One-hour special premieres Saturday, July 20 @ 9:00 p.m. ET on The Weather Channel

What: The words "Dangerous Day Ahead" appeared in the last tweet sent by storm chaser Tim Samaras, just hours before he, his son Paul Samaras and chase partner Carl Young were killed while chasing the El Reno, OK tornado on May 31, 2013. "Dangerous Day Ahead," a one-hour special airing on The Weather Channel (Weather), recounts the chasing activities of the Samaras team, Weather's Mike Bettes and his Tornado Hunt team, and Juston Drake and Simon Brewer of Weather's "Storm Riders," as they followed, recorded and reported on the deadly storm. Bettes, Drake and Brewer give emotional first-hand accounts of the events leading up to the harrowing moment when they found themselves caught in the fury of the EF-5 tornado. Jim Samaras explains his brother Tim's passion for tornado science and why he found his job as a tornado chaser and researcher so critical. "Dangerous Day Ahead" also looks at the different types of storm chasers: those who are in it for the science - conducting field experiments to better understand these weather disasters, those who chase storms as part of their media reporting jobs aimed at giving better warnings to the public, and the growing number of people who chase storms just for the thrill of it.

Who: In addition to Bettes, Drake and Brewer, The Weather Channel meteorologists Dr. Greg Forbes, Jim Cantore, Stephanie Abrams and Chris Warren weigh in with additional expert information and viewpoints.

Where/When: Premiere: Saturday, July 20, at 9:00 p.m. ET on The Weather Channel (Encore: Sunday, July 21, at 8:00 p.m. ET)

Twitter handles and hashtags: @weatherchannel, @TWCMikeBettes,@DrGregForbes, @JimCantore, @StephanieAbrams, @TWCChrisWarren,@SimonStormRider, @JustonStrmRider, #tornadohunt, #tornado, #StormRiders