VIDEO: Insane view from inside a tornado in a specially-designed "Tornado Intercept Vehicle"

[Poll_Blind]

Some people like to go for drives in the country and some people like to go for drives in tornado country. And then into the tornados, because.

So you can't do it in just any old car of course. No, you need something pretty amazing to drive into a tornado and survive and that's just what stormchasers Brandon Ivey and Sean Casey built. They call it the TIV 2. Here's a snippet from Mythbusters where Adam and Jamie geek out over the features of the TIV 2:

On that episode of Mythbusters they tested the TIV 2 out and it passed their simulated tornado, which was accomplished by putting it behind the roaring engines of a jumbo jet.

But how does it handle itself in a real tornado? Like a boss, that's how. Uploaded to YouTube yesterday:

Hat-tip to The Atlantic.

PB

[Drale]

1. I saw them once in a gas station in Nebraska

and they let me sit in it but that was the first TIV, it was pretty still pretty cool.

[Poll_Blind]

3. I bet it was! I can't even imagine what it's like to be in that thing with...

...a tornado all around you. After seeing that video, though, I hope a lot of people become far less curious about tornados and just get the hell away as soon as they possibly can. Watching the ground get scoured before the real fun started made me shudder to think how quickly a person on foot or in a regular car would likely be killed or severely injured.

PB

[Tikki]

2. WOW...I am extremely claustrophobic..prob would have passed out as my view became obstructed...

Brave scientist help us learn more and more.


Tikki

[u4ic]

4. I saw the IMAX film Tornado Alley last year

Not sure if it's the same guys, but there was a similar vehicle in it.

I guess the vehicle isn't sound proof. I wonder if one can seriously damage their hearing in a situation like that? I can't imagine ear plugs being of much use.

[G_j]

5. woa!!

that second video is insane alright!