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Tornadoes – some of the most destructive natural disasters Mother Nature ever placed on her Planet Earth. And throughout the Southern/Midwestern United States, where these occurrences reign havoc on a regular basis, storm chasers have outfitted a range of vehicles to get as close to (even inside) these twisters. It’s not a hobby, it’s a lifestyle. You may think they’re crazy, they’d say you’d be right. Check out some of our favorite homemade Tornado chasing automobiles.

Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers

These psychopaths weather researches have taken their storm monitoring tanks into the heart of tornadoes for TV audiences on Storm Chasers. These fellas have their very own custom built Tornado Truck (the TIV), equipped with state of the art electronics, weather monitoring and radar equipment and a lot of armor.

The TIV (Tornado Intercept Vehicle) is actually two retrofitted pickups, the original was a Ford F-450 while TIV2 (seen on the television series) is a 2008 Dodge 2500 – weighing nine tons and gets a mere 12 MPG from its 92-gallon tank.

Amateur Tornado “Researchers”

Many dream of becoming a Storm Chaser in childhood, but much like fire fighters and astronauts, few heed the call when they grow up. But each year dozens of amateur tornado bandits take cameras and DIY weather monitoring devices strapped to their Dodge Dakotas and old Mercury Topaz 4-door sedans.

And there’s plenty for them to hunt. According to USA Today: “On average, about 1,000 tornadoes form in the USA each year, killing about 60 people.” Between the 60+ researchers on the windy roads, with camera and radar set, they plan on tracking down every single one.

So, why do they do it? Is it a rush – running after these destructive forces? Is it for the glory of the scientific community? Or maybe, it’s all a metaphor, for chasing the ladies.

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Tags: Features, storm chase videos, storm chaser vehicles, storm chasers, tornado chasers, weather