Storm Chasers Star Joel Taylor Dead at 38

Co-star Reed Timmer announced the news via Twitter

By Elyse Dupre Jan 24, 2018 1:13 PMTags

Storm Chasers' star Joel Taylor has died at the age of 38.

His co-star Reed Timmer announced the news via Twitter on Tuesday.

"RIP my best friend and storm chasing partner, Joel Taylor," Timmer wrote. "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."

Timmer also shared a series of photos of Taylor via the tweet. His cause of death is not clear at this time. 

Taylor was born in Elk City, Oklahoma. He went on to study meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, where he met his future co-star Timmer.

The two documented their journey through Tornado Alley during the 2003 storm season for the documentary Tornado Glory. Then, in 2007, they went on to star in the hit Discovery Channel series Storm Chasers. Taylor served as meteorologist and driver, going behind the wheel of the team's storm vehicle the Dominator. 

According to Discovery, Timmer and Taylor's relationship "soured" when Reed decided to focus more on TornadoVideos.Net, a website dedicated to showcasing storm chasing footage and research. Taylor quit the TVN but eventually reconnected with Timmer and his team.

The two went on to create the documentary Tornado Chasers.