Tornado chaser takes direct hit from 175-mph tornado, keeps cameras rolling

Director Sean Casey has spent the past decade driving straight for tornadoes in vehicles built to withstand the most violent forces nature can unleash. This weekend, his vehicle took a direct hit from a Kansas tornado spinning 175-mph winds — and survived to share its video.

As made popular on the Discovery Channel's "Storm Chasers" series, Casey's Tornado Intercept Vehicle 2 is essentially a meteorological tank. Built on the frame of a Cummins-powered Dodge commercial truck, the three-axle, four-wheel-drive hauler is enclosed in two-inch-thick armor, made of layers of aluminum, steel and Kevlar, with windows of inch-thick polycarbonate. The bottom skirts raise and lower to prevent storm winds from tipping the truck like a terrapin; the hydraulic stakes on either side stab the ground for additional bracing.